Returning Home
by Evanescence2189
Summary: Cobblestone-paved roads, gray skies and the prospect of a classroom all seemed to pale in comparison to the lives they once led. Narnia still calls to them. And the Kings and Queens will finally be able to answer that call. Sequels "The In Between Times"
1. The Station

**Here's the start of Part III in my Chronicles of Narnia series. Thanks Witchy Pixie, my beta, for editing this chapter for me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****Chronicles of Narnia or any of its many characters. I do, however, have possession of Alexa, my OC.**

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><p><em>~Returning Home~<em>

Chapter One – The Station

Peter sighed, leaning against the stone pillar. The train groaned and hissed as it pulled to a stop, making the previously slow station come rapidly to life. The underpass became filled with the hustle and bustle of people both coming on and off the subway train. Some called out to their loved ones in joy, some wore distinguished suits and a flippant air about them as they boarded, while others (namely Peter) stood in wait.

'_Where are they?_' he thought with a frown. Edmund had said he would be back in a minute, to use the restroom. It had to have been ten minutes Peter had been there alone, while Alexa and Lucy accompanied Susan to purchase a newspaper. Their lives seemed so ordinary now, he reflected. It had been a year since they had been cruelly torn from a home they had known for fifteen years and still loved. Only two months later they had been forced to return to school.

It didn't seem fair, to have to so quickly accommodate themselves into their drab surroundings after so little time. But even as the Professor understood their plight and grief, he still maintained the fact that they were now children (as he had once been). They must return to their lives in England like any other, which included getting an education.

It seemed moot at this point, in Peter's mind. They had been educated properly while in their _true _home. They had ruled a country, surely that counted as education fit for a king, which he was—_is_.

He sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes. Walking away from the pillar, he made his way towards the entrance of the station. The crowd began to dissipate as the railway dispatched, and left only a few people wandering the corridor along with Peter.

Though they put up quite the argument, Professor Kirke was adamant in his decision.

"_Wouldn't your parents be confused if their children suddenly decide they no longer wish to attend school in the fall like normal children should?"_ he had asked. This just about ruined any other point they could have brought up. He sent them out of his country home with their things to begin the school year once again. The previous year, the girls had been enrolled into St. Finbar Academy, Peter and Edmund in Hendin House Preparatory.

Peter's demeanor became guarded as he noticed the few boys walking in his direction. They wore the blue blazers and khaki pants of the Hendin House uniform, like Peter. He realized they were hooligans from his school: loud, obnoxious boys who enjoyed causing trouble—just as Peter had enjoyed the many scuffles that had ensued between the group and himself for some of their antics. He had promised his wife and Lucy that he wouldn't get into another fight after a particularly nasty occurrence, but he wasn't sure that he would be able to keep it. These boys had a knack for bringing out his worst, and in the mood he was in, Peter wasn't sure how well he would be able to control himself.

"Oh, look. It's our favorite Pevensie!" said one of the boys. Peter's face remained blank and expressionless, though he acknowledged the boy.

"Jared," Peter said, nodding minutely. Jared Jackson had a fairly sociable personality, light-hearted and jovial. He had the potential to be an amiable, nice person. Though while he was in this group, that possibility was next to none. His less than agreeable friend was their…leader of sorts.

"Have a good summer Pevensie? I hope you did, because you'll probably catch hell this next school year," said another, who approached Peter with a visage of nonchalance. Peter knew Jason Gardner hated his guts, and in turn smiled grimly.

"Will I now?"

Jason chuckled, crossing his arms. "What're you waiting for Pevensie, your little family?" Peter's eyes narrowed fractionally, though nothing else showed through his momentarily calm expression. He was tense, eager to find them, but remained where he stood.

"Who said I was waiting? I was just leaving." As soon as he made a move to leave, Jason's hand gripped Peter's shoulder firmly.

"What do you want?" Peter asked in clipped tones. His patience was wearing very thin.

"I've seen those two sisters of yours, the fine looking brunette and the little black haired *bird. They **rationed?" Peter's jaw set firmly as he tensed, sharply tugging his shoulder from the boy's grip.

"I hardly think they would offer an imbecile like you a minute of their time," Peter said, letting a bit of his frustration leak into his voice. He didn't even bother to correct the brute; he wanted to _leave_ damn it! Before he did something he would regret…

Jason laughed, along with his friends.

"Aw, what? The little Pevensie is angry?" he taunted, roughly bumping his shoulder into Peter's as he walked past, though Peter stood his ground.

"Oh, he _is_ angry! But now you have to apologize for bumping me, you little twit."

Peter smiled thinly. "Is that so?" he asked lowly.

"Yeah, unless you—" Jason Gardner's sentence was cut off by the force of Peter's punch against his face.

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><p>"Hurry Su, they're waiting for us," Alexa said, occasionally taking glances at the subway station's entrance.<p>

"I'm almost done, give me a second," Susan replied distractedly. She panned the newspaper stand for any intriguing articles that she could use as a current event for her history class, but so far, her efforts had been fruitless.

"Uh…h-hello." Susan and Alexa turned their heads to the newcomer. A boy about the same age as the two girls, sporting the Hendin House uniform, approached. He adjusted his glasses a bit higher, the sun catching in its reflection; perhaps a nervous habit.

"Hello," Susan acknowledged with a slight nod of her head before going back to the display of articles in front of her. Alexa gave him a smile, but she noticed amusedly that his efforts were directed towards Susan. His eyes never left her form as she scanned a page, her eyes following with her finger.

"You go to St. Finbar's?" he asked hesitantly, disturbing Susan from her reading. She paused, looking back up to him with a wan smile.

"Yes," she replied shortly.

"I go to Hendin House, across the road…I've seen you a lot."

The once Gentle Queen allowed herself a less agitated-looking smile. Alexa was content to stand behind, looking on the scene that was unfolding.

"…Sitting by yourself," he finished. Susan's expression, if possible, became even more tight.

"Well, I prefer to be left alone." Susan grabbed her things that had been sitting on the floor by her feet. Alexa also grabbed her bag, preparing for their leave.

"Wait, what's your name?" he asked. Alexa had to repress a giggle from the look that crossed Susan's face. _'Oh Su, have mercy on him,' _she thought.

Susan turned to face him, giving a fake smile.

"Phyllis." The former Courageous Queen nearly burst into hysterics, but quickly smothered it in light of Susan's withering glare behind the boy's back. Secretly, Susan was glad the other girl was laughing. She hadn't been seen doing much of it in the past year and understandably so.

Alexa's laughter died as she saw Lucy running toward them at an astonishing speed.

"Susan, Alexa, come quick!"

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><p>The three fought through the formed crowd to see, unfortunately, a familiar sight. Susan frowned, shaking her head as her sister's eyes softened in disappointment. Lucy had gone to the restroom, leaving Susan and Alexa. When she had gotten out, she had seen the fight from the entrance of the railway station, and ran to the newsstand. Alexa covered her eyes with one hand, her head slightly bowed.<p>

'_How could he do this again, after he _promised_?_' she thought angrily. Yet she was worried for him, especially as he was thrown to the ground. Just before she would have jumped in herself, if only to try and yank him out, Edmund pushed through people to join the fray, knocking a boy off of Peter in the process.

'_Perfect_,' she thought dryly.

Finally, the altercation had attracted the attention of some police officers, who broke up the fight and scattered the boys. One pulled Peter to his feet by the arm.

"_Act your age!_" the officer shouted over the noise. Peter only pulled his arm from the man's hold and walk away toward a nearby bench, Edmund trailing behind him. Lucy, Susan, and Alexa followed, setting down their bags and taking a seat.

"You're welcome," Edmund stated sarcastically after plopping next to Peter.

"I had things sorted," Peter replied as he stood from the bench.

"What was it this time?" Susan asked dryly.

"He bumped me."

"So you hit him?" Lucy asked disappointed. Peter paused for a moment before turning around to face us.

"After he bumped me, he tried to make me apologize. That's when I hit him." Alexa sighed in exasperation, looking to the ground by Peter's feet.

"What, Alexa?" Peter asked tersely.

"Don't you snap at me. I was worried about you," she said. Peter could have sworn he heard her mumble something sounding akin to "idiot," but chose to ignore it. Instead, he rolled his eyes in agitation.

"Honestly, is it so hard to just walk away?" Susan asked in exasperation.

"I shouldn't have to!" Peter replied, his voice rising with his temper. "Don't you ever get tired of getting treated like kids?"

"Um, we _are_ kids, Peter," Edmund pointed out.

"Well, I wasn't always." The five grew silent at the remark, not knowing what to say.

"It's been a year, how long does He expect us to wait?" Peter asked as he sat back down next to Alexa and Edmund.

"It's time we all accepted that our home is here now," Susan said, mostly directing her words toward Peter. Alexa refrained from sighing, and gently grasped Peter's hand, trying to give reassurance…and perhaps asking for some as well. Peter didn't respond at first, but eventually did tighten his grip on her hand.

"_Owch!_" Lucy yelled out jumping out of her seat. Her shout made the rest jump slightly in surprise.

"Quiet, Lu." Susan admonished, clearly annoyed.

"Something pinched me!" She said pointing to her seat at the bench. Alexa soon jumped up as well, feeling something pinch her on the back.

"_Ow!_ Peter, cut that out!" He looked shocked at my accusation but suddenly yelped and jumped up as well.

"Hey stop pulling!" he said to Edmund as a subway train began to pass them.

"I'm not touching you," Edmund replied, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Would you all just–what on earth is that?" Susan asked as she and Edmund got up from being pulled on themselves. The train appeared to be going faster and faster at an abnormal speed, blowing papers around the five and creating a strong wind. They felt little prickles all around their bodies as the atmosphere started to change.

"It feels like magic!" Lucy shouted out, her eyes widened in excitement. A true smile bloomed on Alexa's face.

"Everybody, hold hands," Susan said seriously. When Peter held his out expectantly to Edmund, his younger brother hesitated.

"I'm not holding your hand!" he said raising his voice above the wind. '_Oh, for heaven's sake!_' Susan thought agitatedly.

"Just—" Peter cut off his words and grabbed Edmund's hand. The walls were crumbling away and the train was now moving so fast it was almost hard to see. The world was spinning around them as they held each other's hand tightly.

Then, as quickly as it started…it all ended. Alexa opened her eyes, and absently wondered when they had closed. She smiled. '_Garrett, we're coming home_.'

**YAY! The first chapter is done! Let me know what you guys think.**

***From .com "Clichés and Expressions Origins": "**_**Bird**_** - woman or girlfriend." In this case the word is used as "woman."**

****From "Hep Cats to Full Birds: Slang of the 1940s" By Michelle L. Carr: "**_**Are you rationed?**_**" Meaning: "Are you going steady?"**


	2. Home

**Sorry it's been so long, everyone. Thank you all for your many reviews! And to Witchy Pixie for this chapter's edits.**

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><p><em>~Returning Home~<em>

Chapter Two – "Home"

The subway station had vanished, leaving wide trees with thick branches in its wake. There was hardly any room for the five children to move with all the dense foliage surrounding them. Twigs and thistles stuck into them at all sides.

"Where in Narnia do you suppose we are?" asked Lucy.

"It could be anywhere, I can't see a thing with all these trees," replied Edmund.

"Then let's get out into the open, if there is a break in this forest," said Peter. They pushed past the branches with some difficulty, as they were getting pricked by sharp thorns, stuck by nettles, bristles, and the like.

Finally, however, they found an opening in the wood. It revealed sparkling blue waters and the grainy sands of a beach. The waves were calm, falling gently onto the ocean's edge. The sky was clear, save for the sun that shone brilliantly in the morning sky. And there was a light breeze that carried with it the fresh, saline smell of the sea.

The five looked to one another then with equal expressions of amazement and excitement. _They were home._

"Last one to get in is a rotten egg!" Lucy exclaimed, darting toward the ocean. The others soon took off after her, taking off their jackets, shoes, ties, and hats. Edmund, Peter, and Susan joined Lucy in the cool water, though Alexa hung back for a moment at the shore. She put one foot into the water to test it, and jerked it back a little at the temperature. '_It's cold!_' she thought.

"Alexa, what are you doing?" Lucy asked. The older girl just smiled wryly, shaking her head.

"It's freezing! How do you not feel it?" Alexa replied. She looked down at the water, and took a slow step forward. Never had she been one to resist the cold well, even during the hard Narnian winters they had endured. She took her time. But without warning, she felt herself being grabbed by the waist and held atop of a shoulder by strong arms. She shrieked in surprise, flailing her arms, but then decided it would be better to hold on tight.

"Peter, y-you let me down!" Peter smirked. He shifted his hold on her as he waded deeper into the water, closer to his siblings.

"I'm sorry. You were taking too long, dawdling by the water's edge like that."

Alexa scowled in annoyance. "Oooh, you better not drop me. Now, go put me down over by the edge so I can get in slowly," she demanded. But Peter simply stood where he was. She sent pleading eyes to Susan or Edmund, but they were busy splashing each other, along with Lucy. Although, she could still see the way their eyes shifted to the two every now and then, probably to keep an eye on the show. Alexa's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Peter, please put me down." He gave her a slow glance out of the corner of his eye. It let her know something was awry. Her eyes widened slowly as his expression turned slightly wicked. '_He wouldn't_,' she thought.

"Peter…" Alexa started shakily. He smirked.

"As you wish." Alexa uttered a short scream as she was tossed, and landed with a splash. As she came up, gasping for breath, she heard rather than saw everyone laughing heartily. Sopping wet hair covered her face, blocking her vision.

"Don't you know? You're supposed to just get it over with when coming into cold water, not take it inch by inch. That would take very long in my opinion," Peter remarked. Alexa pulled the strands away from her eyes, looking at him with a sardonic expression.

"I must say, I agree with Peter's approach," commented Edmund between his fits of laughter. Peter joined his brother and sisters in the merriment. But a second later, he hardly had time to let out a yell as he was tackled into the water.

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><p>After a few more minutes of swimming, they came out to dry. Very thirsty and hungry, they set off with their coats and things to see what they could find. There were crabs, shrimp, and small fish they could eat, but there was no sign of fresh water as they made their way up the shore.<p>

"Look, the path winds in ahead, near the forest," said Edmund. And it was true—they came to a dip in the water's edge, which finally led them to a stream.

"It would be better to drink farther near the forest. The water there will be less salty," said Susan. Walking further down, they finally got their fill of refreshing water.

"Now, what about food?" asked Alexa.

"We could catch shrimp and crabs," Lucy suggested.

"But we have no net," Edmund pointed out. "What about gulls' eggs?"

"Do you recall seeing any sea gulls?" Peter asked wryly.

"Well, then we'll have to follow the stream, into the wood. There could be berries and other such things," Susan said, pointing in the direction of the crowded expanse. Like when they had first arrived here, getting through the branches was difficult, taxing, and arduous. Fortunately, they came to somewhat of a clearing where each could stand with enough room between them.

"Do you smell that?" Edmund asked.

"Yes, it's delicious," Alexa responded.

"Look, up there," Lucy said, pointing to an area ahead of them, but a bit high off the ground.

"It's an apple tree, I do believe," said Susan. "And look, there are many of them. It must have been an orchard."

"Then this place has been inhabited before," commented Peter as he took an apple from one of the trees. They all ate as many as they so wished, until they were satisfied.

"What's that?" asked Lucy, after she had finished her third fruit.

"It's…a wall," Peter said, walking over to where Lucy had pointed. The wall was covered in winding, overgrown vines and wallflowers. It held gaps and jagged cracks in between some of the bricks. He laid a hand on the rough, uneven stone, and looked sideways. There was an arch, leading into what must have been a courtyard. They made their way through, and marveled at what appeared to be the ruins of a building—a castle.

"There's the remains of a staircase, a tower there, walls," Peter said, pointing to each as he saw.

"It must have been long ago when people lived here," Edmund said.

"Ages ago," Lucy added. She wandered through another doorway, coming to a what she supposed was once a great hall. It had an elevation of stone all the way to the far wall—well, where there _was_ a far wall.

"Look, it looks like a dais, and a grand ballroom. It's almost like what our palace was like," said Susan.

"Cair Paravel?" Edmund asked.

"What _other_ palace?" Peter replied dryly.

"Where do you suppose we are?" asked Susan. All seemed pensive for a moment, taking in the crumbled walls and dense forestry that was just outside the courtyard.

"We could be anywhere on the east coast. Perhaps not even in Narnian bounds," said Alexa. '_But…there weren't many palaces on the mainland…_' she refused to finish the thought.

"I wonder who lived here," said Lucy. "Something about this place seems so…familiar."

"I…I think we did," Susan said after a moment. The other four looked to her, and saw she had something in her hand. It was a piece of intricately crafted gold the size of her palm.

"Hey, that's mine! From my chess set," Edmund said in recognition.

"Which chess set?" Peter asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a _solid gold_ chess set in Finchley did I?" he asked sardonically. Ignoring Peter's droll look, Edmund took the piece from Susan and starting examining it further.

"It can't be," Lucy whispered to herself.

"What?" Peter asked. But he realized, with a sinking feeling, what Lucy had most likely discovered as well. '_It's obvious_,' he thought with a sigh.

"Don't you see?" Lucy questioned. "Imagine walls… and columns there," she said, pointing in each direction as she took Edmund's hand. She positioned him in front of a piece of stone that seemed to be held to the ground, which (if you were looking at it from Susan, Peter, and Alexa's perspective) was to the left of four other similar slabs of crumbled stone. Lucy then grasped Peter's hand, pushing him next to Edmund, then Alexa, then Susan…and finally…Lucy stood next to Susan, all the way to the right. It was how they had sat before their people, members of the court, friends—all of which were only threads of memories long past.

There was a deep, solemn silence in which none of them said (or could say) a word. _How could their home be in shambles?_ But then, Peter finally broke the reverie.

"It's Cair Paravel."

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><p>"There should be an entrance into the treasure chamber next to the dais. Somewhere…here," said Peter, feeling the wall. Edmund knelt down in front of a scarred piece of stone on the ground, and examined it closely.<p>

"Catapults!" he said in surprise.

"What?" Peter asked incredulously, turning to face his brother.

"This didn't just happen…Cair Paravel was attacked." They were stunned in sight of Edmund's revelation. Susan glanced at the half-collapsed walls, and found that her brother was right. It was covered in obvious signs of battle scars, scoring the rock.

"…Found it," Peter said quietly. With Edmund's help, he pried the door open. Inside was a cave, as black as pitch. But Peter could see the edge of a staircase leading downward. Finding a thick stick, he looked for something to help catch a fire. He found nothing, and instead, ripped a long piece of his shirt from around the hem and wrapped it around the wood. Peter looked to Edmund, once again stuck.

"I don't suppose you have any matches do you?" Edmund just raised a brow.

"No, but…would this help?" he replied. He dug into his large, coat pocket and pulled out an electric torch.

"You might have mentioned that sooner," Peter said in disbelief, though he couldn't help but grin wryly. The girls tried to smother their giggles while Edmund smirked, and went ahead with the light. Peter made a motion with his hands for the ladies to go first, before following close behind down the stairwell.

They were led into a small room, and once Edmund flashed the torch inside, it was apparent that it was in fact the treasure chamber of Cair Paravel. There were suits of armor lined up along the wall. Next to them were shelves that held beautiful jewelry, golden chalices, and other precious things. On the far wall sat six oak trunks strengthened with iron bars on the.

"What are those?" asked Lucy.

"Let's have a look," said Peter. When they approached the chests, they found that every of them were built specifically for each of the five monarchs.

"My swords have been perfectly preserved. The blades are sharp, clean, and even," Alexa commented.

"Yes, as is mine," said Edmund. Lucy held up what used to be one of her favorite dresses. But now, being that she was years younger, it was much too large for her.

"I was so tall," she said. Susan smiled gently.

"Well, you were older then," she pointed out.

"Opposed to hundreds of years later, when you're younger," commented Edmund, who was wearing a helmet _also_ much too big for him. Lucy grinned, and pulled down on the edge of it, over his face.

Susan pulled out her bow and quiver, strapping it on. But then she rummaged through the chest, looking for something in particular. '_It has to be here somewhere_,' she thought.

"What's wrong Susan?" Alexa asked. Susan paused in her search to look over at the other girl.

"I can't find my horn," she said, puzzled. "Oh, I must have left it on my saddle…the day we went back." Everyone looked at their gifts, solemn at the unwanted memory Susan's comment brought.

Peter unsheathed his sword, and spun it over on its other side to read the inscription.

"_When Aslan bears his teeth, winter meets its death_," he started.

"_When He shakes His mane, we shall have spring again_," Lucy finished sadly. "Everyone we knew…Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers. They're all gone."

"I think it's time we found out what's going on," Peter said quietly, but firmly with an authority in his tone that reminded Alexa that her husband was still Peter, the High King.

"There are five of us, so what is that trunk for?" Edmund asked, gesturing at the sixth box all the way to the left. Alexa approached it, a sick feeling in her stomach.

"Alexa," Peter warned, taking a step in her direction. She didn't stop, and slowly opened the chest. Her hands shook as she pulled out a familiar object, and turned to face the four.

"Oh, dear Aslan," murmured Susan. Lucy held a hand over her mouth while Edmund and Peter were speechless, staring at the small weapon in Alexa's hands. Peter approached her, touching the metal.

"It…it's his training sword," he said slowly. Alexa's shoulders shook with the force of trying to restrain her tears. And Peter flinched slightly when the sword suddenly jerked in her hands.

"That's not all…that's not all that's in there. Th-there's a long sword—it-it's beautiful. And there's a shield…what does that mean?" she asked pitifully. Peter took the sword out of her hand, setting it inside the chest, and wrapped his arms around his wife.

"My son…h-he…he's…" Peter shushed her, running a hand down her back. But the pain he felt was indescribable. Silently, he fought down his own emotion. His son was most likely gone, and he _would_ find out who was responsible.

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><p>They changed out of their school clothes, and into some clothes of theirs that had been placed in their trunks. Then, they departed. The Cair was in shambles, but that didn't mean that was the same for the rest of Narnia. And where were all the Narnians, for that matter? None could be seen so far. There were no woodland creatures scurrying to and fro among the trees, which were also strangely lifeless, or even dwarves or naiads. It was startling, and somewhat disturbing to see a Narnian forest so quiet—dead really.<p>

The five walked for about an hour, following what Peter had remembered should be the Great River. It wound around Cair Paravel, and ran relatively northwest. At least, this was so when they were Kings and Queens in Narnia.

"Wait, look. Over there!" Lucy said, pointing ahead of them. On the river, there was a small boat rowed by two men, who appeared to be soldiers. They looked to be carrying a bundle as they slowly stood. On closer inspection, Peter saw that the bundle had hands and feet, which were bound by thick ropes.

"It's a dwarf," he said, somewhat confused. It was a dwarf, and he was about to be thrown overboard. Susan raised her bow and fired a warning shot, which embedded itself into the side of the boat. The two men then snapped their attention from the dwarf to Susan.

"Drop him!" she shouted. The soldiers shared a knowing look, and shrugged. The dwarf seemed to also be surprised be her statement, before he was unceremoniously dropped into the water to drown. Peter and Edmund raced into the water to save the Narnian, while Susan shot another arrow—right into one of the men's chests. The other, seeing his companion fall, jumped into the water and swam away.

Eventually, Peter came out of the river with the dwarf, and Edmund pulled the boat to the shore. Lucy ran forward and used her knife to cut away at the ropes, while Alexa removed the gag at his mouth. He immediately rolled over and spit out all the water that had entered his system. Alexa then reached down and grabbed Peter's sword in front of her. Just as she was about to give it to him, the dwarf suddenly spoke.

"'_Drop him_?' That's the best you could come up with?" he sneered. The Kings and Queens were baffled by his response. How could he be so rude?

"A simple _thank you _would suffice," Susan said in annoyance.

"They were doing fine drowning me without your help," the dwarf spat out.

"Maybe we should have let them," said Peter in agitation.

"Why were they trying to kill you?" Alexa asked. The dwarf paused.

"They're Telmarines. That's what they do. And it wouldn't help that they're superstitious enough to believe ghosts inhabit this forest," he said.

"Telmarines, here in Narnia?" Edmund asked incredulously.

"Where have you been in the last few hundred years?" asked the dwarf, sarcasm dripping from every pore.

"It's a bit of a long story, actually," said Lucy. Alexa handed Peter back his sword. And when the dwarf saw this motion, recognition dawned on him.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me. _You're_ the Kings and Queens of Old?" he asked skeptically. Peter stepped up to him and held out his hand.

"High King Peter, the Magnificent." But he soon put his hand down, as the dwarf didn't shake it. Alexa smiled and shot him a sideways glance.

"You probably could've left off that last bit," Susan said slyly. Peter looked suddenly sheepish.

"Probably," the dwarf agreed with a laugh.

"This may be off topic, but where did the second man go? If this is the Great River, he has a long swim to get to Telmar," said Edmund.

"He won't be going to Telmar," replied the dwarf.

"Then where will he be going?" asked Peter exasperatedly. His patience was thinning.

"Oh, you didn't know?" the Narnian said patronizingly. "Telmarines have ruled Narnia for centuries." They were shocked, to say the least, and stared at the dwarf. Finally, when he was able to dislodge his tongue from the roof of his mouth, Peter spoke.

"_What?_"


	3. Frustration

**Hey everyone, sorry this is so late. My apologies, but thanks Witchy Pixie for your edits. ;)**

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><p><em>~Returning Home~<em>

Chapter Three – Frustration

Peter rowed the boat, pulling hard at the oars. They moved slowly down the river in silence, inwardly taking in the stillness of the forest near the edge of the bank. There weren't even any birds calling to one another in the sky. It made things strangely empty.

"The trees…they're so still," Lucy said quietly.

"They're trees. What do you expect?" the dwarf, who had reluctantly addressed himself as Trumpkin, asked gruffly.

"They used to dance," she explained. He paused, and then carefully replied.

"It wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded—perhaps ten or so years. Those that survived retreated into the woods. As for the trees…well…the trees ventured so deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since."

"And…what happened just after we…left?" Alexa asked slowly. Trumpkin glanced at her, not entirely grasping the weight of the question. But, he answered in any case.

"King Garrett. He was young at the time, but he soon became sole ruler of Narnia." He paused, looking at the bottom of the boat before returning his gaze to both Alexa and Peter. "He was your son." It was a statement, not a question.

"Y-yes. What happened to him?" she asked. She needed to know. It would haunt her if she didn't ask the question. Peter stared hard at the dwarf, now too distracted to even row the boat.

"The Telmarines invaded Narnia about three hundred years ago. As the story was told, King Garrett was about twenty years of age…he was killed by King Caspian the First during the siege." Alexa couldn't stop the sob that tore through her throat. Susan quickly enveloped the older woman in her arms in an almost motherly fashion, while Lucy laid a hand on the Courageous Queen's shoulder. Peter let go of the oars to smack one hand onto the side of the boat in both anger, and grief. Edmund covered his face with one hand, leaning against the hard wood.

"_I don't understand_. How could Aslan let all this happen?" Lucy asked loudly.

"_Aslan?_ We thought He abandoned us when you lot left," replied the dwarf, mildly surprised by the girl's outburst.

"We didn't mean to leave, you know," Peter said after a moment, when he had his emotions mostly under control. He then took the oars again.

"That makes no difference now, does it?" Trumpkin replied solemnly. Peter glanced at his wife, who was still shaking with the force of her own emotions.

"Get us to the Narnians, and it will."

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><p>In the next hour, Trumpkin the dwarf told the Kings and Queens of another development: the Telmarine prince who had become their ally, Prince Caspian the Tenth. It was unsettling, being told that a <em>Telmarine<em> was suddenly on their side. But once they heard the boy's story, it did make sense.

"So…after his aunt gave birth to a son, his uncle, Miraz, no longer had need of him," said Edmund.

"Yes," said Trumpkin.

"Then he and his mentor found you and your friends, then blew Susan's horn that called us back," Peter added.

"Again, yes. The mentor is a Half-Breed, but he's one of us—a red dwarf."

"Well, then what is it that Caspian's doing now, besides hiding from his uncle?" asked the Just King.

"He, as well as the rest of us, is in Aslan's Howe," replied the dwarf.

"'The rest of us,' you mean the rest of the Narnians," said Peter.

"Who else?" Trumpkin asked dryly. The High King frowned.

"Then, we need to go to…Aslan's Howe, you said?" Alexa said.

"Yes," Trumpkin affirmed.

"It seems all of Narnia's geography has changed since our day," commented Alexa.

"In our day? You make us seem terribly old," said Lucy.

"Well, in a matter of speaking, we _are_ old, Lu," Susan replied.

"Old in mind, not in body, obviously," Edmund said.

"Right, well, shouldn't we get off here then?" asked Peter. "If it is to Aslan's Howe, then that should be directly south of here."

"No, we've still got a bit to go before it gets _directly_ south," said Trumpkin, to Peter's annoyance.

After the sun had nearly reached the midway point in the sky, they got out of the boat, tied it at the shore, and set off on foot into the forest. There were numerous twists and meandering turns in the path over large boulders and fallen trees. After couple of hours, they were exhausted.

"You know, when we get there, they're going to be expecting great warriors," Trumpkin started. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but they won't really be expecting children—"

"Excuse me?" Peter asked, cutting him off.

"You don't believe we're who we say we are?" Edmund asked shortly.

"Well, I don't know about that…"

The Just King's eyes narrowed.

"Alright then," he said before unsheathing his sword.

"Oh, you don't want to do that boy," said the dwarf.

"If you really don't believe that we're skilled warriors, challenge one of us," said Edmund. Trumpkin looked at him uncertainly.

"I don't have my sword on me," he said slowly. Peter unsheathed his sword and tossed it to the dwarf. He grabbed it, but the weight of it seemed to drag him down a bit. Trumpkin sighed, and quickly attacked, surprising Edmund. He had to back up a couple steps as he blocked a few hits. But he sidestepped as the dwarf charged, and tapped him on the back of his foot. This left Trumpkin off balance, and let Edmund make a succession of moves that put the Dwarf on the defensive. He struggled to block all the blows, and then in a flash move, had his sword twisted out of his grip.

"There you go," Edmund said, tossing the weapon back to Trumpkin, who had tripped and fallen onto the floor. He was embarrassed, but he took the sword back with what little pride he had left and gave it back to the High King. Peter sheathed Rhindon, and took the lead ahead of them.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>"I don't remember this way," Susan commented as they climbed up a steep hill.<p>

"That's the problem with girls, can't keep a map in their heads," Peter said smugly.

"That's because unlike men, _we _have something in them," Alexa said, giving her husband a cursory glance. Peter and Edmund only rolled their eyes.

"We should've just listened to the DLF in the first place," Lucy said.

"D-L-F?" Edmund questioned. Lucy grinned.

"Dear Little Friend," she explained. Alexa and Edmund chuckled and looked to the dwarf walking behind them.

"That's not at all patronizing, is it?" he asked sardonically. The five stopped as Peter paused, looking at his surroundings puzzled and irritated.

"I'm not lost," he said, more assuring himself that the rest.

"No, you're just going the wrong way," Trumpkin stated.

"You last saw Caspian in the Shuddering Woods. The quickest way there is to cross at the Rush River," Peter said tersely.

"But unless I'm mistaken, there is no crossing in these parts," the dwarf replied in clipped tones. Peter turned around sharply, looking at his wife.

"Alexa, think of your maps. Wouldn't it be quicker to get to Aslan's Howe by crossing the Rush River, and then make our way to Beruna?" She thought for a moment, and chose her words carefully.

"From our current position, yes. But I—"

"Then that explains it then. You're mistaken," Peter said coldly to the dwarf, before stiffly turning on his heel and beginning to walk forward. Alexa caught up to him and put a hand on his forearm.

"But Peter, the terrain has changed since we've been here. I don't even really know where we are right now," she said softly.

"I think I would know the land I lived in for fifteen years, Alexa," he said just as coolly as he had Trumpkin. He then walked forward, making his arm slip out of her grip. She was surprised by the brush off. He had never talked to her like that before. '_You asked for my opinion in the first place…_'

All were a little distracted by the exchange, and were startled by a low growl a little ways ahead of them, where Lucy had wandered a few yards away.

"What's that?" asked Susan. A snarl sounded throughout the forest before there was a large snap of twigs and branches, and a large bear emerged from between the trees. It let out a guttural roar before knocking the small Valiant Queen onto her back. Susan strung her bow in a flash, and pulled the arrow back with two fingers. But she hesitated.

"Susan, _shoot!_" yelled Peter. Just as she would have let the arrow fly, the bear went down in one final growl of pain. It fell to the ground with a _thump_, an arrow embedded in its side. It was _not_ Susan's arrow, however. It was Trumpkin's shot. They ran to Lucy, who scrambled to her feet. Peter got to her first, and searched her for injuries.

'_Despite his foul mood, he is still just as overprotective of his siblings as ever_,' Lucy noted, even as she felt her hands shaking. Alexa came up next to her, settling a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked, firmly gripping her upper arms. She nodded, and he let out a breath of relief. "Susan, why didn't you shoot?"

"I-I thought it was a Narnian..." she trailed off, furrowing her eye brows in her embarrassment and guilt. She was still a bit stunned. Edmund put a hand on her shoulder in silent comfort.

"Why didn't it stop?" he asked Trumpkin.

"I suspect it was hungry," he replied wryly. He pulled out his dagger and plunged it into the bear's gut, cutting a large stab across. Lucy leaned into Peter, who wrapped his arms around her. Alexa looked to the side, wincing at the harsh gesture. "If you get treated like a dumb animal long enough, you become one yourself."

Eventually, they made it to the river…which was now a gigantic trench. Edmund looked down and immediately looked back up.

"You see, by the time the river erodes the earth's soil, the water—" Susan began in what would have been a long winded explanation.

"Oh, shut up," Peter cut her off. He wasn't in the mood for another science lesson from his sister.

"Is there a way down?" Edmund asked Trumpkin.

"Yes, falling," he replied dryly.

"Well, we weren't lost," Peter defended himself.

"We'll have to go around to the ford near Beruna. How do you feel about swimming?" the dwarf asked.

"It's a heck of a lot better than walking," Susan said, remembering her aching feet. They started walking in the direction Trumpkin directed, when Lucy suddenly called out, startling the group.

"Aslan? Aslan! It's Aslan, over there!" she exclaimed excitedly. She turned to the rest of them and pointed to the other side of the trench. They all looked in that direction, hopes drawn. But…none of them saw a thing besides the dense wood.

"Don't you see, He's right—" She turned around, but cut herself off when she didn't see anything as well. "There."

"Do you see Him now?" Trumpkin asked scathingly.

"He was there. I think He wanted us to follow Him," she said, glancing at Peter.

"I'm sure there are many lions in this wood, Lu," Peter said. Lucy looked to her brother in incredulity.

"I think I would know Aslan when I see Him," she said tersely.

"Look, I'm not about to jump off a cliff for someone who doesn't exist," Trumpkin said exasperatedly.

"He _does_ exist," Peter snapped. He was nearly at his limits with this dwarf.

"The last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid," Edmund stated. Peter sighed, and looked back to his sister.

"Why wouldn't I have seen him?" he asked quietly.

"Maybe you just weren't looking," she replied just as softly.

"She has a point, Pete," Alexa murmured. She had mixed feelings on what Lucy could have seen. Although, Edmund was right, Lucy had never been wrong before. But surely it couldn't have been Aslan…

The High King sighed again in agitation. He saw no point in trying to cross this gorge for something that could have been just a trick of the light. No one else had seen Aslan, not even a glimpse of His golden fur.

"I'm sorry Lu," he said simply, before walking away. She looked down, dismayed at her brother's behavior. Edmund touched her shoulder gently, beckoning her to follow as the group slowly left.


	4. Aslan's Howe

**Once again, thanks to the few of you who reviewed, and to Witchy Pixie for editing. I hope you enjoy reading this next chapter. Sorry for the shortness of it, but I think the next one will be longer.**

_~Returning Home~_

Chapter Four - Aslan's Howe

It had been a little over an hour since the debate at the cliff, and they had made it to the ford. However, the wide lake they would've had to cross was flooded with Telmarine soldiers heaving long blocks of wood. They were nearly finished with what appeared to be a bridge, going across the width of the river. On the finished end, where they had started, a camp had been set up. And rows of large tents were clustered about the bank.

"Telmarines want to make sure they get rid of us now that they know Narnians are still alive," Trumpkin mumbled.

"They're cutting down the trees," Lucy said softly, as to not give away their position. But the outrage was read clearly in her voice.

"Come on, we have to double back," said Peter, leading them away from the scene.

Having nowhere else to turn, they were forced to return to the cliff. Gracefully, Lucy never said, "I told you so." Perhaps if she had, Peter wouldn't have such a nagging feeling when he noticed the dried tear tracks on his sister's cheeks.

He walked a few feet from the cliff's edge and turned back to Lucy.

"So…where do you think you saw Aslan?" he asked.

"Stop trying to sound like a grown up. I didn't _think _I saw Him, I_ did _see Him," she said, approaching the edge. "It was right over—" Lucy screamed as the earth crumbled underneath her, leaving her to drop off the side of the precipice.

"Lucy!" Susan screamed, voicing the fears of all of them. Peter was the closest to the edge, and quickly leaned over. He sighed in relief, seeing that Lucy was safe. In fact, she had fallen onto a rock path that could lead them down to the bottom, relatively safely. '_That was…mildly lucky_,' thought Peter.

* * *

><p>By dusk they had made it to the bottom of the cliff, and back into the forest. After finding a small clearing, they stopped to make camp and take a much needed rest. Trumpkin started a fire, and roasted some of the meat he had taken from the bear for them. Fortunately, they were so hungry and exhausted from their day that they hardly paid much attention to exactly <em>what<em> they were eating. But soon, the fire died down, and sleep took over most of them…

Susan sighed for the umpteenth time, trying yet again a new position to get comfortable on the soft grass. Eventually, she gave up and opened her eyes.

"Lucy, are you awake?" Susan whispered.

"Hmm?" Lucy asked sleepily, turning on her side toward her sister.

"Why do you think I didn't see Aslan?" asked Susan. The question had been nagging her for hours.

"You believe me?" Lucy asked.

"Well, we got across the gorge," Susan replied tentatively.

"I don't know," Lucy admitted.

"Maybe I just didn't want to." The Gentle Queen sighed, rubbing the area between her eyes. "You always knew we'd be coming back here didn't you?"

"I had hoped so."

"I finally had gotten used to the idea of living in England," Susan confessed.

"But, you're happy to be here aren't you?" Lucy asked. Susan paused, honestly pondering over the question. '_Am I happy to be here? It's been one problem after another since we came back here_,' she thought grimly.

"While it lasts."

* * *

><p>Peter woke the next morning with a delightful crick in his neck. '<em>This is why I don't like sleeping on the floor<em>,' he mused dryly. He looked around, seeing that the sun had slightly risen in the dawn sky, and everyone was still asleep…except Lucy. She wasn't there. He got up without a sound, not wishing to wake his siblings or the dwarf. Grabbing his sword, he walked quickly in the direction he thought she would have gone—through the small break in the woods.

He had finally talked to her. Albeit in a dream, but He had spoken to her. Gently passing her fingers over the tree's trunk, again she lamented over the still silence of it. This path was just like her dream, touched with the morning sun's rays of light filtering through the branches.

As she turned the corner, Lucy could have sworn she saw dark, golden fur. Fleeting though it was, her attention narrowed on the shadows of forest ahead. It was dark from the thick canopy of trees overhead, but she moved closer.

"Aslan?" Receiving no reply, but glimpsing another small movement in the underbrush, she continued.

"Asla—" Lucy almost gasped in fright as she was grabbed from behind, a hand over her mouth. But then she sighed in relief, seeing it was only Peter. He ducked them behind a large bush and nodded in the direction of a minotaur several feet away, trudging past the two. Motioning for her to stay put, he slowly approached the fell beast with his sword drawn. But before he could strike, a sword parried from what seemed to Peter as thin air.

Blearily, Edmund opened his eyes. '_It's like I fell asleep five minutes ago_,' he thought dully. Slowly, he sat up and saw that he was the only one awake. '_Wait, where's Peter? And Lucy?_' The spots where they had slept were empty, leaving him, Susan, Alexa, and Trumpkin.

"Su, Alexa, wake up," he said, shaking the two. They grumbled, but did wake up at his insistence. Edmund also grasped Trumpkin by the shoulder, and shook him gently.

"What do ya want?" the dwarf slurred.

"Get up, something's not right," said Edmund.

"What happened?" Alexa asked tiredly.

"Peter and Lucy are missing, let's go." At this, the girls became considerably more alert. They stood along with Edmund and Trumpkin, who slowly got to his feet.

"Look there, it's an opening. I'm sure they went through there." Edmund pointed to the break in the woods."

* * *

><p>The attacker looked…tall, and decidedly male. From what Lucy could see, long dark hair framed a young face. In fact, he looked close to Peter and Alexa's age. And he was just as skillful in swordsmanship as Peter, even when his sword was knocked away from him. Peter swiped at him, but his weapon stuck into the tree next to the boy. He kicked Peter away from the sword and tried pulling it out to use it himself.<p>

Grabbing a large rock from the ground, Peter jumped to his feet. Just as he was about to use it as a weapon against his opponent, he stilled at the sound of Lucy's sudden scream.

"_STOP!_" Echoes of growling and grunting filled the forest. He looked around to see Narnians appearing from the woods, all poised to strike. Peter looked back to the boy, who had finally succeeded in pulling the sword from the bark of the tree.

"Prince Caspian?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Yes, and who are you?" The prince seemed suspicious, and held Rhindon threateningly.

"Peter!" He turned his head at Alexa's shout, and saw the rest of his family run into the clearing, along with Trumpkin. Caspian paused to look at the sword in his hand, and read the inscription. He then looked to Peter in slight awe.

"High King Peter?" he asked incredulously.

"I believe you called," Peter replied sardonically.

"Yes but…I thought you would be older," admitted the prince.

"Well if you like, we can come back later." Peter began to move, as if to turn and leave.

"No! No, it's alright. It's just…you weren't exactly what I expected."

"Neither are you," Edmund commented, making a meaningful glance toward the minotaur.

"A common enemy unites the oldest of foes," said a badger standing next to the minotaur. Trumpkin walked over to him, greeting his friend.

"We have anxiously awaited your return my Liege," said a small mouse as he approached Peter, holding a rapier. "Our hearts and swords are at your service." He finished by making a respectful bow to Peter, who gave a small smile.

"At least we know some of you can handle a blade," he said, with the slightest glance toward Caspian. Edmund shared a knowing look with Alexa, who sighed in slight exasperation at Peter's behavior.

"Yes, indeed. And I recently put it to good use securing weapons for your army, Sire," the mouse said. He didn't even recognize the pointed insult to Caspian.

"Good, because we're going to need every sword we can get," Peter replied, now turning to the Prince.

"Well then, I suppose you would want yours back," Caspian replied, offering the weapon to the King. Peter took it and sheathed it with a little more force than necessary, before continuing their walk toward Aslan's Howe.

* * *

><p>They had arrived at a huge, cave-like structure made of dull, sandy stone. One could tell that it had once been a great fortress, but now this had crumbled. Vines grew wild, wallflowers decorating the cracks in the rock. But, it looked defensible enough to withstand for the time being. Outside the courtyard looked deserted, but inside the stronghold was alive with Narnians busy at work. They made weapons and armor of steel for the slowly amassing army.<p>

"It might not be what you're used to, but it is defensive," said Caspian. The five monarchs looked to him for a moment, before Susan drew their attentions to the far wall.

"Peter, come look at this," she said, pointing to a narrow hall. Curious, they followed her into a small, circular room. Visible in the dim torchlight were markings on the cave walls. Some were strange symbols and signs the Kings and Queens and the Prince had never seen or heard of before, while others were detailed drawings.

"They seem to tell a story," Alexa said. Her voice had been quiet, but it echoed loudly against the acoustic of the walls.

"Our story," added Edmund, motioning for Peter to bring the torch he was holding nearer. In the light, the images became clear to see. They were drawings of, in a way, the prophecy told to them so long ago about their rule, and how it would come about in the defeat of the White Witch.

"It _is_ us," said Lucy.

"What is this place?" Susan asked Caspian. He looked at her with a confused expression.

"You mean, you don't know?" he asked. Their silence was his response. He took another torch off the wall and led the monarchs further into the cave. The passage wound about into another room. In it, was something the Kings and Queens of Old hadn't expected to see again—ever in their lives.

It was the broken table—the Stone Table. It was a comfort to them, the five, to see at least something more than just their Gifts had been preserved from their time and rule. Lucy walked down the few steps of stairs, and reverently touched the cold table. It still had the ropes that had been tied held around it, untouched for centuries. Delicately carved symbols of the Deep Magic were etched into the Stone's frame, broken in half where It had cracked.

"He must know what He's doing," she said softly.

"I think it's up to us now," Peter said sollemnly. Alexa turned to look at her husband, and then to the Stone. '_I sincerely hope not_.'


	5. Midnight Ride

**Sorry for not updating in a while. I'm trying to get better at that. But this is a longer chapter, which required much editing. So I hope it makes up for it. My mistakes are my own. And thank you reviewers!**** I really appreciate you!**

* * *

><p><em>~Returning Home~<em>

Chapter Five – Midnight Ride

"It's only a matter of time. Those men and their war machines are on its way," said Peter, insistently. He had called an official meeting to decide the plan of attack, but so far the combined efforts of the Kings and Queens, Prince Caspian, Cornelius, and some of the appointed Narnian leaders and generals (such as Glenstorm the centaur) had proven fruitless.

"What do you propose we do you're Majesty?" Reepicheep questioned.

"We need to get ready for war."

"We need to get ready for–"

Both Caspian and Peter spoke over each other. Peter turned to glance at the younger boy, giving him an expectant look. The prince paused for a moment, and then averted his eyes. Alexa glanced at her husband, wondering what the animosity was between him and Caspian. '_Probably the question of authority. From what Trumpkin has said, Caspian had been calling all the shots until we arrived_,' she thought.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they strike us," Peter declared.

"That's crazy! _No one_ has ever taken that castle!" Caspian exclaimed in his incredulity.

"There's always a first time," Peter countered dryly.

"We'll have the element of surprise," Trumpkin said, agreeing with Peter.

"That's a _suicide_ mission! And we have the advantage _here_," the Prince countered.

"If we did stay, we could hold them off indefinitely," Susan said, coming up behind Caspian. Peter was taken aback by his own sister siding against him, but he held his ground.

"Look, I appreciate what you've done here, but this isn't a fortress. It's a tomb." Peter said.

"Well I, for one, feel safer underground," said Trufflehunter, the badger, rallying with Susan and Caspian.

"I don't know if this place is exactly stable, though. Even when we first came in, it looked as if the rocks might fall on top of us," Alexa commented.

"Yes, and if they're smart, the Telmarines will just starve us out," said Edmund. Peter almost sighed in relief. At least his wife and brother supported him.

With three Royals out of the five in favor of bringing the fight to Miraz, Caspian's plan to stay was shot down. He looked at the wall as Peter began to give out orders.

"If I get your troops in, can you handle the guards?" the High King questioned Glenstorm. The centaur hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Or die trying, my Liege," he promised solemnly.

"_That's_ what I'm afraid of," Lucy stated, entering the conversation. Peter couldn't believe it—both his sisters turned against him.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You are all acting as if there are only two options: dying here, or dying there," she explained.

"I'm not sure you've been listening Lu," Peter patronized.

"No, _you_ are not listening, Peter. Or have you forgotten who _really _defeated the White Witch?" she said boldly. Peter stood rigidly, glaring at his younger sister. The room grew silent with tension.

"I think we've waited for _Aslan_ long _enough_," Peter retorted icily. With that, he urged the rest of them close to discuss the details of their attack. However, Lucy stayed in her place motionless, watching her eldest brother. '_What has he become?_' she wondered sadly.

The Narnians dispersed, and started making preparations for battle.

* * *

><p>Caspian sat outside against the wall, waiting for their Majesties to join him for their "mission." It would be a waste of time, and many would die in cold blood. But since the <em>High King<em> so commanded it, the prince would refrain from saying, "I told you so."

"You seem bitter, my Prince." Caspian turned at the sound of his mentor's voice.

"Hello, Doctor Cornelius." He sat next to Caspian, viewing the night sky in front of them.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be. This is sure to become a catastrophe," replied Caspian.

"Not that, I mean seeing your Uncle. It may be your last chance." The prince was pensive for a moment.

"What you said at the castle…about my father, was it true? Is there more to the story of his death?" Cornelius was hesitant to answer, but the boy would have to learn eventually. Better now than any other time.

"There is more to King Caspian's demise," he agreed.

"What more could have happened?" Caspian asked urgently. "It was an accident."

"You're father's death was a tragedy, but no accident." The young man nearly began to tremble.

* * *

><p>Sighing in frustration for the umpteenth time, Peter failed once again in an attempt to latch the stubborn arm guard. It was with his left, non-dominant hand, so his tries were awkward. Alexa watched in slight amusement as he struggled, but didn't offer to help. She knew he would get it eventually.<p>

Just when he thought he might just chuck the thing across the room, it finally clicked into place.

"Finally, damn it," he mumbled. Alexa grinned, albeit small as it was, and finished securing her belt. She slid her swords into their holsters, and made sure they wouldn't slip out by themselves.

"So, what do you think about all this? You didn't say much during the meeting," Peter said. She hesitated before speaking, but chose her words carefully.

"I think, that this is a very tricky thing we're doing," she replied.

"Well we very well can't stay _here_," Peter retorted.

"I agree. But that doesn't mean we have to rush."

"I thought you were on my _side_."

"I'm simply looking for possibilities, Peter. But I realize this is the best decision. We would never make it if we stayed here." Peter paused, regarding her silently.

"I don't have to tell you to be careful." It was a simple statement, but it held mixed emotions for Peter.

"Aren't I always? You're the one who likes to take chances," she said. She looked into the mirror of their shared room to plait her hair, while he frowned.

"Right, I keep forgetting," he said dryly. Alexa finished, tying a band at the end of her plait, and she paused.

"That goes for you as well. If you do anything stupid, I'll kill you myself." He grinned slightly at the quirk of her lips.

"Just like you once threatened to skin my alive with my own sword? Highly unlikely of you," he remarked.

"Right, I keep forgetting."

* * *

><p>Things had gone smoothly in the beginning. Peter, Edmund, Caspian, Alexa, and Susan were transported to the castle, carried by the only remaining Narnian griffon clan. Edmund was able to get to his post on one of the towers, where he would later signal the troops who had made the trip on foot.<p>

However, this depended on Caspian and Trumpkin, who would have to raise the gate without being seen. The rest, after having landed, made their way to Miraz's private chambers with the directions Prince Caspian had provided.

"Let's go," Peter commanded.

...

Caspian jogged through the empty corridors, ducking when needed to pass by patrolling soldiers. This would probably be his last chance to talk to his uncle, to for once in for all, get the truth.

"_You're father's death was a tragedy, but was no accident."_

The words haunted him. If indeed, this would be his final opportunity, he would need to take it. He switched directions, and slowly opened a side door only used by servants to clean out old food and waste. Turning a corner, he climbed up a stairwell, and disappeared into the long halls. He made his climb up the familiar stairwell that broke way into the most secure portion of the castle: the private chambers of the royals. Slipping past the guards proved a challenge, but he was able to get by them without being discovered prematurely. Caspian turned the knob on one of the doors, and walked in slowly. Unsheathing his sword, he prodded the sleeping figure that lay under the thick, satin sheets.

"Get up."

* * *

><p>Peter gestured for silence as he approached the door, but was surprised when voices could be heard from the inside.<p>

"Put the sword down Caspian. I don't want to do this." Peter quickly opened the door and entered the room, Susan and Alexa right behind him. They found a middle aged, bearded man at sword point by the prince. They could only assume it was King Miraz. Caspian was at the receiving end of a crossbow, held by who he had once described as Miraz's wife, Pruniprismia.

"This was once private room," Miraz said sardonically.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be at the gate house." Peter asked Caspian in annoyance.

"_No! _This time for _once_, I want the truth!" Caspian said in anger. He came closer to Miraz with his sword, forcing him to take a step backwards.

"_Did you kill my father?_" He asked in a menacing voice.

"Now we get to it," Miraz replied in a coarse whisper. His wife looked at him suspiciously, while the other three were baffled.

'_What in Aslan's name is going on_?' Susan thought. But she continued to hold her arrow targeted at Miraz's wife.

"You said that your brother died in his sleep," said Pruniprisma.

"Well, that was more or less true," Miraz spoke dryly.

"How could you?" His wife asked him in disbelief. Unknowingly, she had just lowered her weapon pointed at Caspian.

"For the same reason you will pull that trigger—_for our son!_" She almost did pull it, but when she tensed, so did the rest of the room's occupants. And so, her husband continued, directing his next words to his nephew. "We Telmarines would have nothing if we wouldn't have taken Narnia. Your father knew that as well as anyone."

"Don't move!" Susan shouted at the woman.

"You need to make a choice, Dear." Miraz continued to walk forward pushing Caspian back, ignoring the line of blood appearing down his neck.

"Do you want our child to be king? Or do you want him to be like _Caspian?_ _FATHERLESS!_" Pruniprismia flinched, accidentally shooting the crossbow. Caspian clutched his arm painfully, letting out a sharp cry. He pulled it out and threw it to the side.

"_Caspian!_" Peter shouted. Miraz's wife shrieked loudly, temporarily distracting them. In all the commotion, none noticed when, or how, the Telmarine king had slipped out of the room.

Then the alarm sounded throughout the castle, alerting everyone of an enemy's breach.

"_Damn!_" Peter cursed under his breath. He led them to the gate house as fast as he could. Caspian ran in front of Susan and Alexa, holding his wound where a patch of blood stained the cloth covering his shoulder.

"Peter, where are we going?" Susan asked.

"They're just outside, come on!" he replied. He didn't bother to look back at them before taking off ahead.

"Ed, signal the troops!" he called to his brother. Although he was still up in the tower, he wrestling with a Telmarine soldier that had discovered him.

"I'm kind of busy, Pete!" Edmund shouted, parrying a thrust to his side. Peter let out a deep breath in exasperation, and ran to pull the level that controlled the gate. It was a round wheel, and was about five feet in diameter. Difficult to crank though it was, Peter continued to strain against it. He could see Glenstorm in the front of their forces, just outside the palace walls.

"Peter, it's too late! We have to get out while we can," Susan said.

"No, I can still do this!" he shouted in protest.

"But—" Peter cut off his sister's protest.

"Help me!" Reluctantly, they obeyed. Susan and Alexa took a place on either side of him while Caspian grasped the metal from the other side of the wheel.

"Exactly what are you doing this for?" Susan questioned. Peter never answered.

* * *

><p>Edmund ducked the swipe to his head and lunged forward. He caught the soldier through his middle, and the man fell with a thud. Sparing no time, he flashed the torch in the midnight sky, sending the signal. He then checked the front gates.<p>

'_Damn, they're not up yet, only half way_,' he thought. '_This is turning out to be a disaster_.' But as the troops ran through the courtyard, attacking at will, it seemed as if there was yet hope.

At the sound of stumbling footfalls behind him, Edmund spun around. He let out a short yell as cold steel slid through his side, and swung his sword upward. It cut deep across the chest of his attacker, who choked out a cry. And the soldier fell to the ground.

"Bloody hell," Edmund mumbled. He looked down at the weapon still imbedded in his flesh, and yanked it out. He pressed his hand against the wound, feeling the warm liquid oozing through his fingers. He stumbled toward the exit of the tower and strung the Telmarine's sword between the latch and handle of the door.

'_I can't go down that way. There are sure to be at least a dozen soldiers waiting at the bottom_.' The only other way off the tower was to jump…or…

'_Perhaps a different route then_.' Edmund looked down at the battle ground and nearly sighed in relief. There was a small hay stack for the nearby stable piled against the wall.

Despite the agony jolting right under his ribcage, he climbed over the side of the roof. Thankfully, it was a long panel that stretched until the next balcony. He slid down bumpily until reaching the edge, where he landed hard onto the ground below. Fortunately, his fall was broken by the soft hay. But he lay gasping in pain as it had deeply aggravated his injury.

Edmund turned his head, and glanced at the frightened horses still enclosed in their stalls.

* * *

><p>The four were quickly separated into the affray, though soon it seemed to be a losing one. In the beginning, with the flood of their troops, they had been able to temporarily overwhelm the Telmarines. But soon Peter noticed that their diminutive army grew smaller, and the deaths began to mount. Yet, he pushed on. They still had a chance.<p>

He spotted Susan and Alexa fighting in close range of each other, but Caspian was nowhere to be found.

"Peter, look out!" Susan suddenly screamed. He looked up sharply and saw a group of Telmarine soldiers taking aim with crossbows, perched on a balcony. Just before they fired he dove to the side, out of range.

"He made it," Susan said. Alexa let out a relieved breath, and ducked another swipe to her head. She stabbed the sword in her right hand through the soldier's chest. Soon, the effort of heaving assault after assault became taxing. It wasn't long before a soldier was able to take her by surprise, catching her temple with his armored elbow. She reacted just fast enough on the turnabout, but his blade sliced a clean line along the side of her face, only nearly missing her eye. With a parry of one of her swords she was able to knock his weapon away, and with the other stab into the soldier's stomach. Panting for air, she tried in vain to wipe the blood from her face and managed to look about her surroundings.

"Dear Aslan, we're losing," Alexa whispered. All around them she saw their people falling to the hands of the Telmarines. They were slowly being pressed further away from the gates, cutting of their escape. She glimpsed Peter among the chaos. And his voice rang above most of the noise of clanging swords and cries of the battle.

"_Retreat!_" Susan looked to Alexa, and both ran toward Peter. Once he saw them, he motioned with his hands to make haste.

"Come on!" he yelled to them.

"Peter!" They turned at the sound of Caspian's voice, and saw that he had found horses for them from the stable. Edmund sat behind the prince, leaning heavily on him. He was panting for breath, and at once they noticed how pale his face was and how his hair clung to the side of his cheeks from perspiration.

"Ed, what's wrong?" Peter asked quickly. The panic shone in his eyes as he watched his brother. '_He looks so weak_,' he thought grimly.

"I found him lying in a pile of hay…he was stabbed. Get on the horses, we have to leave," said Caspian. The three obliged, but their worry for Edmund was apparent.

"M-fine…jus' get me to Lu," Edmund mumbled. His hand was pressed against his side firmly, though his eyes were beginning to droop.

"S-stay away Ed, we're going to get you help," stammered Susan, shakily taking hold of the reigns of her horse.

"We have to leave, _now!_" Peter said. He took the lead ahead of them. The Telmarines were beginning to drop the gate, and their army scrambled for the exit. The Kings and Queens just managed to escape with some of their forces, but most were still trapped inside. Peter stopped short as he heard the iron rods close with a clang. He turned, and watched in sorrow as Narnians were shot down and killed before his eyes. They were innocent casualties of war, who didn't deserve their fate.

"Peter!" He urged his horse into full gallop, away from the castle. '_They didn't deserve to die_,' he thought. '_…And perhaps…they didn't have to_.'

* * *

><p>They made the trip back as quickly as they could. Many needed medical attention, including Edmund. As the remnants of their army approached Aslan's Howe, Lucy was there to greet them. Her eyes widened in shock at their dwindled numbers. But she rushed forward when Peter and Caspian carefully brought down Edmund from a horse and gently laid him to the ground.<p>

"Back up, everyone!" she yelled, motioning with her hands.

She unscrewed her cordial as she ran.

"Oh please, oh please," she murmured, kneeling next to him. She let a drop fall into his mouth, and held her breath anxiously. Peter, Alexa, and Susan gathered around Lucy, urgently waiting for Edmund to heal.

Eventually, he coughed raggedly, and sucked in a deep breath as he felt his wound stretch and close. His eyes slid open, and he gave a small smile as he saw his family.

"Hullo," he said hoarsely. '_This is the second time I've been nearly killed by a stab wound like that_.'

Susan smoothed the hair on his forehead back, and out of his eyes. She then smiled through the few tears that fell down her cheeks.

"Ah, get your hands away from my face," he teased.

"It isn't my fault you look ghastly," Susan retorted, though she smiled along with Alexa and Lucy, who chuckled. Peter only gave a small smile as he knelt beside his brother.

"Real mature," Edmund commented.

"You're one to talk," remarked Alexa. He grinned in response.

"What happened over there?" Lucy asked quietly. She knew they hadn't won from the long and worn looks on the Narnian's faces. Also, she knew their army had been much larger than who had returned.

Peter stood up from the ground, and nodded toward the Prince.

"Ask _him_."


	6. Accusations

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Prince Caspian_, or the few lines borrowed. Those lines will be in italics, like so: "_Text, text."_ **

_~Returning Home~_

Chapter Six –Accusations

"Ask. _Him_." Peter nodded his head toward Caspian. The prince in question was shocked with incredulity at the allegation. But he pushed off from the pillar angrily.

"_Me_?" Caspian asked. "You could've called it off, there was still time!"

"No there wasn't, thanks to you. If you had just kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive right now. Not only that, the injury of one of your leaders could have been avoided," Peter replied. Actually, technically two. He'd seen the bloody cut that marred his wife's face and made a mental note to have that attended to later. It only fueled the rage that had been steadily simmering for so long, and for so long he'd tried to keep it contained. But it was enough. This _child _was enough.

His voice was rising with every sentence, in turn getting Caspian's temper riled.

"If we just stayed here like _I _said, then none of them would have gotten hurt _or_ died," countered the prince.

"You called _us _remember?" Peter asked.

"My first mistake," Caspian shot back.

"No, your first mistake was thinking you could even lead these people."

"_Peter_," Susan admonished. She looked to her brother in disbelief before sharing a look with Alexa. '_She just looks stunned. What's _wrong_ with him?_' thought the Gentle Queen.

Peter barely spared his sister a glance, when Caspian spoke once more.

"_I_ am not the one who _abandoned_ Narnia." A tense silence filled the courtyard, in which most were reluctant to even breathe too loudly. For the remark struck a chord with all of the King and Queens, as well as the Narnians watching the argument between the two.

It was Peter's breaking point. Their failure at the castle, coupled with the previous frustrations the past year had brought him, and now this amateur…he knew that he shouldn't physically fight the prince. Peter could restrain himself that much. But _oh_ how he was tempted.

"You invaded Narnia," he began darkly. Peter was nearly trembling with the strain of holding back the hand edging for the hilt of his sword. "You invaded my _home_, which I have dedicated my _life _to protecting. You tried to _annihilate_ my people, for who I have also taken solemn oaths to protect and care for. And..."

Here, Peter was forced to pause, his mouth forming a thin line as he remembered familiar, light brown eyes, an innocent smile, and a laugh that once rang through the corridors of Cair Paravel.

Susan stared at her brother as she marveled at the intensity of his anger, but she couldn't help but be moved by his words. Because of all those things, it would be easy for Susan to have bias against Caspian, no matter how he claimed to fight for Narnia. But no matter what was in the past, he was an ally worth working with, and could help bring a stop to Telmarine rule.

_'If only Peter could see that_,' she thought, and glanced over to Alexa, who stood stiff as a board. However, on further inspection, Susan noticed the woman trembled, and she watched her husband with a wide, disbelieving gaze.

There were murmurs of agreement among the crowd of Narnians, and Caspian was rigid as he watched the High King. He could not recant the misdeeds of his family, and it stung to have it thrown in his face so harshly. It was the one thing Caspian regretted about his heritage most of all. If he could have communicated this to his accuser, he would have, but Peter was not finished. He narrowed his eyes at the prince and gave a glare so ruthless, so cold, it made something in Caspian want to recoil from it's path. He regretted angering Peter, despite himself, and just wanted to be free of the verbal assault, though he was becoming angrier and more frustrated by the moment. He made to leave, but Peter's chilling words stopped him.

"And you have murdered my son, a _King_ of Narnia. You have **_no more right_** to be here than Miraz does. You, him, your _father_—_Narnia was better off without the lot of you!_"

At the mention of his father, Caspian spun back around. In a furious rage, he drew his sword from its sheath and pointed it at Peter. The High King matched the challenged gladly and also unsheathed his weapon.

"_Stop it!_" Susan shouted. She ran in between the two, and glared at each of them. "This has gone far enough. You are _both_ acting like _children_."

Caspian frowned deeply in shame, while Peter only scowled at his sister. When neither put down their weapons, she stared hard at the prince. After a moment under her stern stare, he lowered his sword and walked brusquely into Aslan's Howe. She then turned her gaze to Peter. Susan was nearly at her wits ends with her infuriating brother, though it broke her heart at seeing how much anger he truly harbored in his heart.

'_My hand is itching to slap him upside the head_,_ though,_' she thought grimly.

He sheathed his sword roughly and stalked into the Howe, in the opposite direction Caspian had taken. There was a long period of silence, in which most stood motionless. But soon, the tension abated, and Narnians began to scatter. Only the Just King, and the three Queens were left.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Edmund asked thinly.

"I wish I knew," replied Alexa. She stared at the ground vacantly, before slowly entering the Howe.

"She looks defeated," Lucy commented after the eldest Queen had left. "And she needs something for that cut."

"She's just as confused as we are by his behavior," said Edmund.

"He can't control himself anymore. There's no end to it. I was so close to…oooh," Susan trailed, clenching her hands into fists.

"Hitting him?" Lucy offered. Susan sighed.

"I would have liked to, with the way Peter's being." Edmund gazed at the Howe's entrance. He couldn't really blame his brother for his anger toward Caspian and his family for what they did to Narnia, what they did to _him_. Peter had been a mess even before the news of his son, but after...it was too much for anyone. Treating his own family like strangers, though? Putting his selfish desires above everyone and not fully considering the consequences? That was not the Peter he knew. Not in the least.

"You and me both."

* * *

><p>Caspian paced the room, trying to burn the adrenaline from his argument with the High King. Queen Susan was right, he indeed felt like a child. But how could he not when King Peter and the rest treated him as such? True, he did not have years of experience in ruling a people, but he and the rest of the Narnians had been doing just fine before the Kings and Queens of Old came. Granted, he had called them here. But not to be made a fool out of. He understood King Peter's plight, he truly did, but he was not about to follow someone so reckless.<p>

"It's a shame what happened tonight," said a voice, interrupting the prince's reverie. He turned, and saw Nikabrik walk in casually. The dwarf made a glance at the Table, before looking at Caspian. "Really, such a shame that the _King's_ plan didn't work."

"You say that so sardonically…did you think it wouldn't?" Caspian asked tentatively.

"Oh yeah. Never thought it would for a second. A lot of help this was, trusting those supposed _Kings and Queens of Old_," spat Nikabrik. Caspian was silent, not wanting to speak ill of them.

"Ah, but you know there is someone more powerful than them that could help us?" said the dwarf, who successfully piqued the young man's interest.

"What do you mean?"

"Just like I said, someone more powerful than these five. She single-handedly ruled Narnia for a hundred years. If that's not power, I don't know what is." A slow grin spread upon the dwarf's face, though it looked somewhat cruel in Caspian's eyes. But he ignored it, against his better judgment. He wanted to know more.

"She _ruled?_ Meaning she's dead?"

"Yeah, she was murdered, but that doesn't mean we can't…bring her back," said Nikabrik. He gestured behind him with a sweep of a hand. "Meet my friends, Prince." Seemingly from the far shadows of the deep cave, a hag and a shrouded figure emerged. They came to stand beside the dwarf, and something of an eeriness about them. With this, an uneasy feeling began to grow in Caspian.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, don't mind an old woman like me. I have few skills in certain magic wielding, such as yourself in swordsmanship. I would gladly use it against our enemies, for I hate them like no other," said the hag. It was a high, thin and whiny voice, one that almost made Caspian wince in displeasure. But he nodded to her all the same. His glance shifted to the cloaked person, who had yet to introduce himself.

"_I am hunger. I am thirst. Where I bite, I hold till I die…_" The voice sent deep chills up the boy's spine. It was gravelly, and coarse as jagged rocks. He could see nothing of the man (at least, he _thought_ it was a man) other than piercing, amber eyes. They seemed to glow against the darkness in which they hid. "_I can fast a hundred years and not die. I can lie a hundred nights on the ice and not freeze. I can drink a river of blood and not burst. Show me your enemies_."

'_Well, with that logic, how could I refuse?_' Caspian thought wryly, and not without a little apprehension, a little...fear.

"Draw the circle, and prepare the wand," Nikabrik commanded.

* * *

><p>Alexa walked quickly through the halls. She didn't want to go back to the room her and Peter shared, but there were only so many places she could go. Finally, she stopped abruptly and leaned against the wall. She was exhausted. One of the fauns had helped her clean her wound, and it wasn't deep enough to scar, but it would still take time to heal.<p>

"What is _happening_ here?" she whispered. '_I feel so lost, Aslan. Where are you?_'

"What?" Alexa turned her head slightly at the sound of Peter's voice.

"I couldn't even begin to tell you," she murmured.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" he asked. She pushed off the wall a bit to face him fully.

"It _means_ I don't know what to say to you anymore!" He read the frustration in her tone, but couldn't match it with the indifferent appearance she held.

Fortunately enough, Edmund came running around the corner. His eyes were wide and slightly panicked, and Peter immediately turned to his brother.

"What's the problem?"

"Trumpkin says Caspian is in trouble. Come on!" Edmund replied. The two followed him into a familiar chamber, where the Stone Table laid. But it wasn't the sight that greeted them upon entering the cavern. It chilled them to the bone.

"Just one drop of Son of Adam's blood, my King, and I am yours." It was a voice of honey that beckoned to Caspian, reaching out with a pale hand from a wall of ice. The prince stood, almost motionless in front of an enchantress.

"_No_," Edmund whispered to White Witch had somehow been restored, though she was trapped within her own element. An old woman stood off to the side, along with a hooded figure. But at once they noticed Trumpkin battling another dwarf, Nikabrik, his own kin.

"Just_ one drop_."

"_Intruders!_" screeched the hag. She swiped at Peter with a dagger, and he jumped back. Unsheathing Rhindon, he parried another strike to his side.

All at once the hood and cloak fell from the figure, and what appeared to have been a man transformed into a great wolf. It was at least three times as large as a normal wolf, if even a talking one. It leaped into the air and charged at both Edmund and Alexa.

It swung its massive paw, but both ducked. Edmund swung around and caught its back with his sword. It yowled in pain, and turned around. In a split second, the werewolf rushed forward before either had time to blink. Alexa tried to move from the path of sharp claws, but received a long scratch along her arm. She cried out as nail pulled out of flesh, and used her other sword to stab it in the side.

The wolf whimpered, and pulled back abruptly. It uttered a howl that echoed loudly against the walls. It was unnerving, but Edmund met the creature's charge half way and lashed it across its chest. The werewolf fell back with a cry into the dirt, and did not rise again.

Trumpkin blocked a thrust to his stomach, and pivoted to the right. Nikabrik followed, and managed to nick the other dwarf in the shoulder. Trumpkin backpedaled, and regarded the Narnian he once looked up to.

"This is what's become of our kind? Traitors and misfits alike?"

"Oh, don't throw that yellow-bellied nonsense at me. With the Witch at least we'd get somewhere. These amateurs don't know what they're doing, much less that filthy Telmarine prince who thinks he owns the place," spat Nikabrik.

"Yes, the boy, Peter, messed up. But they're not all bad. Rough around the edges perhaps, but bringing _her_ back won't solve a thing," Trumpkin countered.

"Oh, don't tell me you've gotten soft in your old age, friend," said Nikabrik. The other smiled grimly, and quickly threw his dagger. With deadly grace, it cut through the air and embedded itself into Nikabrik's chest. The dwarf clutched at his wound, gaping wordlessly in pain, and fell to the ground. As he grasped his final breaths, Trumpkin stood over him and yanked out the weapon forcefully. He looked down at his fallen comrade, and his eyes softened in remorse.

"Come on, young one. I only want to help you. Come to me, Dear," said the Witch. Caspian slid his sword against his hand, cutting a thin gash. He winced slightly at the pain, but he couldn't quite seem to feel it. Distantly, he could hear the sound of growling and the clanging of metal, but it didn't really register. All there was in front of him was silvery blue, and a pale, beautiful face.

"Caspian!" He felt himself being knocked to the ground, and looked up to see the High King. What was _he_ doing here?

Peter quickly got up, and ran in front of the Witch in Caspian's place. Once he defeated the hag, he had seen how the Witch had baited the prince. Peter knew he would be stronger. He held up his sword in defense, and tensed in preparation. He was going to run her through like he had wanted to all that time ago on the battle field.

"Peter Dear, I've missed you," Jadis crooned. She reached out for Peter, who paused.

"Just _one _drop, Peter." His eyes grew wide and vacant, and his sword began to drop. '_It's the circle_,' he thought dully. But somehow, he couldn't force his feet to move.

"Let me help you...you know you can't do this alone." The more she spoke, the more appealing the thought became.

'_She only wants to help_.'

"Without me, another one of your family could be injured. Your sisters, your wife, perhaps even your brother once again." At the mention of his family, Peter's sword lowered considerably. It nearly dropped to the floor.

"Or worse, slain before you...at the very hands of the ones that murdered your _son_." He brought the metal to the flesh of his hand, and almost began to slice the skin.

"_Peter!_" There was the sound of ice being cut through, and a shrill scream before Peter's vision finally cleared. He turned and saw Alexa, who quickly tried to reach him.

Peter whirled around at the sound of a _crack_. A blade stuck out through the block—through the Witch's heart. His eyes widened as the ice began to crumble and shatter. The Witch's screams forced him to cover his ears, and it deafened all other sounds.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, it stopped. Slowly, Peter looked up and saw that the ice wall was gone, and with it, the White Witch. Instead, Edmund stood before him, his sword still stretched out. In a way, he had killed the Witch.

"I know. You had it sorted," said Edmund. Shaking his head a bit, he walked away from his brother.

Susan and Lucy came running through the door, but stopped short. Susan took one disgusted look at Peter and then at Caspian, who was sitting up now from his position on the floor. She then brusquely walked out the room.

Then, Alexa stood along with Trumpkin. She dusted the pinpricks of thin ice shards from her dress, and picked her way around debris to the cave's entrance. She left the two without a word, accompanying Lucy and the dwarf. Not a word was spoken, nor did there have to be.


	7. Reconciliation

**Once again, I thank you reviewers! These next few chapters, not unlike the last, will be a little angst heavy. So please bear with me. :)**

* * *

><p><em>~Returning Home~<em>

Chapter Seven – Reconciliation

Alexa untangled the leather threads of her arm guards with one hand, and stood in front of the full length mirror. Once she had gotten them off, she reached behind her for the next set of threading. The armor that clung to her torso was comfortable in texture, but felt heavy on her taxed body.

The door of the chamber creaked loudly as it opened, being that it was old and previously unused. Through the mirror she could see him standing at the doorway, uncertainly. Restraining a sigh, she worked harder at the tight knots that held the breastplate in place.

"Would you like help?" Peter asked. Alexa's hands stilled.

"If you would like to help me," she replied softly. He drew closer and lightly placed a hand at her back.

"Is that a yes?" he questioned tentatively. A barest hint of a smile played on her lips.

"Yes." Eventually, she was able to slide the armor off. It was to her relief, and she let out a deep breath.

"That looked uncomfortable," he commented.

"It was just dragging me down by the end of the battle, is all," said Alexa. Peter briefly looked down at the ground while she walked around him. She grabbed a cloth from inside a trunk of provisions they had received, and dipped it into a small bowl of water she had asked a satyr for after the episode in the cavern. She hissed when Peter held her arm, though gently, that had been sliced by the wolf's claws. His eyes flickered to hers, and she noticed his imploring gaze. Wordlessly, she handed him the cloth, and tried not to make a sound of pain as he cleaned the wound.

"It's not deep," said Peter. When she didn't offer a reply, he sighed.

"Are you angry?" he asked. The question took Alexa by surprise, but she did her best to remain indifferent. She knew he wasn't referring to her relatively small injury. He was asking if she was angry with _him_.

"…No," she answered, and with her the hand that wasn't being treated by Peter, she used his shoulder as a balance as she slipped off her boots. She was lying through her teeth. He leveled her with a sharp look.

"You never lie to me," he said. Their eyes met once again, and at that moment, Alexa's eyes softened marginally.

"I've never had to," she said.

"Excuse me?" Peter's voice rose a bit with the question, and he gently released her now clean arm from his grasp.

"What I _said_, Peter," Alexa snapped in reply. "I'm tired, I really am. I'm tired of trying to get through to you."

"What do you mean, get _through_ to me?" Alexa liked to think she was a patient person. And she knew she wasn't particularly outspoken, but this was _enough_.

"Ever since we came…" She looked down for a moment, and shook her head in dismay before gazing at him again. "You've _changed_."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he denied.

"You honestly can't see it? How you're tearing your family apart?" She was pleading with him now, to at least _try_ to understand. But he stubbornly held on to his convictions.

"I'm trying to _save us all!_"

"_No!_ You're trying to reclaim your title as High King and regain the power you lost. That's all you care about," she retorted.

"_That isn't true!_" Peter protested.

"_It is!_ You don't care about Caspian, or putting him on the throne. You don't care about Aslan, or anything He ever taught us. Not by the way your acting. Not even the _death of our son could faze you!_" she nearly screamed.

"_I LOVED HIM!_" His voice broke as he shouted, emotion choking him. Tears were already streaming the Queen's face, even as she struggled to hold them at bay.

Peter regarded her for a moment, breathing deeply in an effort to calm himself.

Brusquely, he walked out of the chamber, slamming the door behind him.

But Alexa was left where she stood. There, she allowed the tears to flow in abundance.

_'What have I done?'_

* * *

><p>Lucy wandered the corridors of the cave, following the torches that hung lit upon the walls. She was trying to find one chamber in particular, one place that she knew she could find the least bit of peace.<p>

'_Aha, found it_,' she thought. She peered into the entrance, and found the room already lit.

...

He had come here for a reason, he knew. At this point, Peter hardly remembered why. Somehow, he thought the Stone Table could perhaps give him some meager comfort. In actuality, the sight of it almost repulsed him in his guilt, fueling his frustration. He was stuck, he realized. It was like hitting a brick wall.

"Peter?" said Lucy. He was in no mood to reply.

"Peter?" she repeated. He stilled when she came to sit next to him. "Are you all right?" He swallowed.

"How…how do I—" Peter couldn't manage much more without having to swallow hard once again. Struggling against conflicting emotions was proving more difficult every time he spoke.

"How do you what?" she asked gently.

"I…I'm so confused."

"I know." The reply was simple, yet honest. "What else do you feel?"

"...I don't know. All the time I've wasted…who was I angry at?" he asked himself. But he knew, as Lucy knew. She only smiled, and held his hand. He thought that his shame just might consume him.

"I blamed Him—for everything I blamed Him," he said. His gaze turned to the Table, forever cracked.

"Sometimes we're blinded by our own feelings, so much so that He is blocked from view. Aslan did not bring us out of Narnia to harm us. It was merely our time, and because it was His will." Peter looked to his youngest sister. In many ways, she was the wisest out of them all in her simple, never-yielding faith in Aslan.

"We have so much to thank Him for," she continued. "It's in the little things we don't see, the details we couldn't hope to have known. In the end, it isn't our plan, our way, or even our own understanding."

"It's His," Peter finished hoarsely. _Alexa was right. 'I've spent so long running from Him...it's enough...I've run long enough_.'

"Right," Lucy said with a smile. And as a comfortable silence settled in between the two, she couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face.

'_I've gotten my brother back, finally. Thank you, Aslan_.'

* * *

><p>It was nearly dusk as Caspian looked out at the expanse of grassy plain in front of the Howe, and frowned. He heard the echo of trampling hooves. Then, from the forest, he saw his uncle's army approaching through the brush.<p>

'_I must tell the others_,' he thought grimly. The war had come to them.

...

"_That's _your big plan? Sending a little girl into the darkest parts of the forest _alone?_" Trumpkin asked Peter incredulously.

"It's our only chance to find Aslan," Peter explained.

"And she won't be alone," Susan cut in, standing closer to Lucy. Trumpkin glanced at the young Queen, and sighed.

"Haven't enough of us died already?" he asked quietly.

"We can't lose faith, Trumpkin," Lucy said as she laid a hand on his shoulder. She offered him a smile, in which he hesitantly looked to the ground.

"We have to find a way to hold off the Telmarines until Lucy and Susan get back," Edmund reminded.

"That's right. How will she get past when they're army is literally at our doorstep?" added Alexa.

"If I may." Caspian surprised all occupants of the room with his voice, and all eyes turned to him as stood from his seat and spoke. "Miraz may be a tyrant and a murderer, but as king he is subject to the traditions and expectations of his people. There is one in particular that may buy us some time." Peter looked at the prince, and gave a small smile.

"Let's hear it."

* * *

><p>"<em>I, Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election and by conquest, High King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands, in order to prevent the abominable effusion of blood, I hereby challenge the usurper Miraz in single combat upon the field of battle<em>," Edmund began. He held the letter written by Peter among the king, Miraz, and his host of advisors. The Just King held himself with nobility and confidence, even if he was, truthfully, a bit anxious. "_The fight shall be to the death, the reward shall be total surrender_."

Miraz eyed Edmund with a certain expression of contempt as the young king finished reading from a large scroll. '_They must think I am a fool_,' thought the usurper.

"Tell me Prince—"

"King," Edmund corrected, rolling up the parchment.

"Pardon?" Miraz asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It's King Edmund, actually. Just king though, Peter's the High King," he said as he restrained a grin. "I know, it's confusing."

'_Cheeky little bastard_,' thought Miraz in a deadpan.

"Why would I risk such a proposal when my army can wipe you out like _that?_" Miraz questioned, making a slight cutting motion with his hand in emphasis.

"Haven't you already underestimated our numbers? Only a week ago, Narnians were _extinct_," Edmund replied.

"And so you will be again," Miraz said through narrowed eyes.

"Then you should have little to fear," The Just King remarked, to which Miraz only laughed pompously.

"This is not a question of bravery," he assured.

"So you're bravely refusing to fight a swordsman half your age?" Edmund asked patronizingly. The smirk vanished from Miraz's face.

"I did not say I refused."

"You have our support your Majesty, whatever your decision," quipped Lord Sopespian, one of Miraz's court.

"Sire," Glozelle, the king's general, started. "Our military advantage alone provides the perfect excuse to avoid whatever—"

"_I'm not avoiding a thing!_" Miraz shouted.

"I was just pointing out that his Majesty is well within his rights to refuse," stated Sopespian. "No one would think a man of his Majesty's age a coward for declining a duel with a great warrior in the prime of his youth…"

"His Majesty would never refuse," said Glozelle. '_He wouldn't would he?_' thought Edmund."He relishes the chance to show the people the true strength of their king."

There was silence, in which tension built from the hardness of Miraz's burning glare at the desk in front of him. Finally, he stood angrily.

"_You_," he said as he pointed threateningly at Edmund, who looked up expectantly. "You should hope that your brother's sword is sharper than his pen."

* * *

><p>"There was something off about it, Peter. It was almost as if they were egging him on, taunting him," Edmund explained.<p>

"Hmm, I'll have to be careful then," Peter said.

"You're still going through with it?" asked Lucy.

"Of course. I'm not backing out quite yet," he replied. But he gave her an assuring smile. Edmund frowned, but said nothing to oppose his brother. There was something different in Peter's demeanor, the Just King noticed. '_He seems…better, less…angry._' But what had caused the change, he wondered. He glanced at his sister-in-law, who stood silently next to Susan.

The Courageous Queen had noticed the change as well, and immediately she became curious. But, she stayed silent. The memories of the previous day still held merit in her mind. With what had been said…she couldn't _quite_ face him with the tender subject just yet. She only knew that no matter what words they had hurt each other with, she wanted to be there when he fought Miraz. At the moment, she was afraid for him, sincerely afraid. It wasn't that she wasn't confident in his skill as a swordsman or his physical prowess, she was merely afraid for her husband, as irrational the fear might seem.

"All right, prepare for tomorrow," said Peter. With this, they were all dismissed.

"Glenstorm, I would like you to be one of the marshals with me during the duel," said Peter. The centaur nodded, and bowed in respect.

"Gladly, your Majesty." Peter smiled, adjusting the armor around his wrist. He was confident, but nervous all the same. This was sure to be difficult.

"I'm going to be there," said Edmund. It was a statement, not a question.

"I know," Peter said with a small nod. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"I am as well." The two of them turned at the sound of Alexa's voice. Peter paused, not exactly knowing how to respond, but his gaze upon her was tender.

"All right," he eventually agreed.

"We're about to leave," said Susan, joining the conversation. They said their goodbyes to one another, and watched as Lucy and Susan left through the tunnels on horseback.

"Caspian, get everyone into position." Peter delivered his orders while making sure everything was ready for their departure.

"Time to go," Edmund stated, sheathing his sword.

...

Walking out onto the field, Peter could already see Miraz. He was standing with a few of his advisors where there was a patch of cement and a crumbled arch. It was where they were to have their duel. Peter could admit that the older king looked impressive. But he refused to be intimidated. He wouldn't, _couldn't_ lose.

"Peter," said Alexa. He looked back at her, and saw that she held Rhindon in her hands.

"Thank you," he replied. As Peter took the sword, their fingers brushed and his gaze lingered on her for but a moment, before he strapped the weapon at his side. They approached the arch.

**Sue radar might have blipped a little in this ****chapter, but I edited it the best I could with some input from Witchy Pixie. Please let me know what you thought of it, whether it be constructive criticism, something you liked, or didn't really care for in Chapter Seven of **_**Returning Home**_**. It's coming to a close, though. There are only a few more chapters left.**


	8. Into the Fray Part I

**I know it's been a while, but I entirely forgot I had this chapter all edited and ready to go for a few weeks now...don't spear me to death. *winces* Here's chapter 8! Please comment on your thoughts, ideas, ect. :)**

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><p>~Returning Home~<p>

Chapter Eight – Into the Fray Part I

Peter drew his sword from its sheath, eliciting thunderous roars of cheers from the Narnians. Not to be outdone, Miraz also put on his grotesque looking helmet, and forcefully took his shield from Sopespian. He then unsheathed his own weapon, and faced his younger opponent. All was silent as both Peter and Miraz slowly walked forward to face each other. They moved in slow circles, seizing each other up and waiting for any chance to strike.

"You still have time to surrender," Miraz sneered. Peter didn't rise to the bait.

"Well, feel free," he replied.

"How many more must die for my throne?" Miraz asked as he tensed his sword arm.

"_Just one_." Peter slammed down his helmet and got into a ready stance.

Miraz jumped up on one of the fallen pillars of the arch. He ran up its length until coming to the edge and jumping off, slamming his sword into Peter's. Narnians and Telmarines alike roared with yelling and cheering as Peter blocked the attack from above with his sword and shield. The battle had begun.

* * *

><p>Susan gripped the reigns tightly, and maneuvered the horse through the dense forest. She tensed as they leapt over a log, landing with a thud. '<em>Where could He be?<em>' she thought.

"Su! I saw something, over there!" Lucy said. She pointed to a small break in the woods.

"What did you see?" Susan asked, bringing the horse to a halt.

"It was only a glimpse really. But I could have sworn it was something besides the trees," Lucy replied. Susan was skeptical, but her younger sister had been right before. '_Might as well. We don't exactly know where we're going anyway._'

"All right," Susan said with a sigh. She turned them around and headed into the clearing.

...

"Peter is taking some bloody awful hits," Edmund murmured.

"He's holding his own," said Caspian.

"True." But the Just King couldn't help a wince as Peter was hit in the face with a shield. He reared back a couple steps. Before he could regain his balance, Miraz knocked him to the ground, and stepped on the shield attached to his arm. Peter cried out as searing pain laced through his shoulder. But he managed to roll away, blocking hits from Miraz as he went.

When he reached the other side, however, he was blocked by broken pillars and rocks. He rolled in the opposite direction and swept Miraz's feet from under him. Peter rose to his feet, while the older man desperately tried to get up from the ground. Once he was able to regain his balance, he glared.

"Does his _Highness_ need a _respite?_" Miraz sneered. Peter was loath to admit it, but yes, he did. Already he was exhausted, sweaty, and his arm, limp at his side, was throbbing in time with the heartbeat he could hear pulsing in his head.

"Five minutes?" Peter suggested. Miraz paused, and glanced at his own sustained injuries. He then returned his gaze to Peter.

"_Three,_" he relented. Both kings walked slowly back to their respective sides. Alexa ran and retrieved Peter's helmet, while Edmund walked closely next to Peter. He somewhat helped his older brother to their side of the field.

"Are you all right?" Alexa asked him softly. Peter nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"I'm fine."

"My uncle is waning. The scratch you gave behind his knee is going to slow him down, but not by much," said Caspian. "You can't give him any mercy."

"Believe me, I don't intend to," Peter replied dryly. He winced as he tried moving his hurt arm.

"Keep smiling," Edmund said quietly. Peter then turned to the Narnians, and raised his good arm to them with a pained smile. They cheered for their king, assured that he would be victorious. Peter slowly sat down, and let Edmund pry the shield carefully from his arm.

Alexa took Peter's sword and shield from him. She clutched them as Edmund probed Peter's shoulder, eliciting jerking movements and painful cringes.

"I think it's dislocated," said Edmund. Peter sighed and turned his gaze to the floor. Miraz was fighting hard; Peter would have to step up his game. Losing was _not _an option. If he was defeated in battle, it could be the end of the Narnian people.

_'And it will be the end of me_,' he thought, and glanced at his silent queen who stood by his side, fingering the hilt of his sword. He then regarded his brother, who was examining his arm with a grimace.

'_I don't want to lose them_,' he realized. Never. For all the wrong he had done in his life, if he could be redeemed, he prayed it wouldn't be in death.

"What do you think happens back home…if we die here?" Peter asked. '_I want to live for them, for my family, for Narnia, and for Aslan, to atone for the things I've said and done_.'

Edmund chose not to answer and, instead, grasped Peter's arm and shoulder. Alexa regarded him silently, her guilt still weighing down in her mind.

'_He can't talk like that...I haven't been able to tell him...just how sorry I am...but surely, nothing will happen to him..._' Her thoughts trailed off, however, as she heard Peter address his brother.

"You know, Ed…you've always been there, and I never really—_AAAH!_" Peter cried out as Edmund snapped Peter's shoulder back into place. Alexa winced and, despite herself, laid a hand on Peter's undamaged shoulder. He bit down a gasp as he breathed in and out deeply, and clenched his fist tightly over his thigh.

Edmund patted Peter's arm in sympathy.

"Save it for later," he said, helping Peter stand. Alexa handed Peter his sword, purposefully brushing her fingers with his. When he looked up at her, she couldn't help but notice the conflict in his expression. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it and kept silent instead.

"Peter, I—"

"It looks as if Miraz is ready, Peter," said Edmund, who offered Peter his helmet. When he shook his head negatively, Edmund put the armor piece on the ground.

At seeing this, Miraz also refused his offered helmet, and strode back into the fighting circle.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," said Peter. He hesitated only once before touching her cheek briefly with his hand, and he turned around.

"I..." she whispered, but let her words die off as Peter continued walking away from her. But she looked to her left as she felt a hand grasp her shoulder.

"It's all right," said Edmund. He gave her a small smile and squeezed her shoulder lightly in comfort. "He'll be fine."

Alexa reciprocated the smile, then turned her gaze back to the battle as Peter stepped closer to the waiting Miraz.

The usurper smirked and gave no warning before charging Peter head on in ferocious attack, wasting no time to let Peter get a hit in. After blocking a slash from Miraz's sword, Peter swung at his adversary with his own. The older man ducked, spun around and used his weight and momentum to slam into Peter with his shield, knocking Peter back face first into a pillar and back onto the ground. As Miraz continued forward, Peter was able to trip him from the ground and regain his footing, forgetting his shield on the ground.

Miraz also got back onto his feet and charged Peter, who not only blocked, but grabbed the other man's sword and wrenched it from his hands. Miraz was able to dodge the first, but not the second hit aimed for the middle of his thigh with his own sword. Peter then let the weapon drop from his hand, and used his own to repeatedly swing down onto Miraz, who barely blocked every attack with his shield. When Peter decided to lunge, however, Miraz was able to forcefully make Peter drop his sword, and slammed his face with the shield.

Peter grabbed it at the second attempt, and twisted it around, making the older king's hands trapped behind his back. Yet, the older man was able to get an arm free. Elbowing Peter in the face, Miraz was able to momentarily stun his younger opponent. In his daze, Peter was not fast enough to react as Miraz threw him into a nearby pillar.

The air rushed out of his lungs on impact. But he managed to roll over, nearly avoiding being sliced through his middle with a sword. Peter rocked onto his feet, and blocked a hit aimed at his unprotected face with his arm guards, knocking the sword away. Now left unarmed and open, Peter swung a punch into the gash in Miraz's leg. The man as searing pain tore through the flesh of his thigh, and fell back onto the ground, momentarily defeated.

"RESPITE!" Miraz called out over the sudden cheering and shouting of the Narnians for their victorious King.

"Respite!" he shouted again, grabbing Peter's attention. He hesitated, but stopped his attack to grant the usurpers wish.

"Now's not the time for chivalry Peter!" Edmund called from the sidelines. Neither he, nor Alexa could tear their eyes away.

All was quiet as Peter turned from Miraz, and began to make off the arena. Edmund almost smiled. But his lips pressed into a thin line as a flurry of movement caught behind his brother. Edmund heard Alexa gasp in fright at his side, and out of the corner of his eye, saw her point to what he had seen. He immediately called out to his brother.

"_PETER!_" Peter swiftly turned, and narrowly avoided impalement with a pointed sword. When Miraz lunged again, Peter grabbed hold of the sword, whipped around and stabbed Miraz under the arm. Miraz cried out in pain and sunk to his knees. Peter then raised the sword above the king, and tensed to make the final blow…but he hesitated.

"What's the matter _boy_, too cowardly to take a _life?_" Miraz sneered. Peter practically seethed with anger at the spiteful man.

'_It would give me pleasure...but no. It's not right_.'

"_It's not mine to take,_" he grounded out. Peter turned slowly, and offered the sword to Caspian. The prince hesitated, but soon walked forward and accepted it. Peter reclaimed his own weapon off the ground and walked off the slab of cement.

Caspian poised the sword above Miraz's head.

"Maybe I was wrong…maybe you do have the makings to be a Talmerine king," Miraz whispered. Caspian nearly shook with the force of his emotions: anxiousness, trepidation, a certain self-righteousness, perhaps. But he knew in his heart that he had already made a decision. And Miraz bowed his head, accepting his fate.

Prince Caspian stabbed the sword downward…into a tuft of grass that had grown between cracked stone—between Miraz's hands.

"Not a king like you," Caspian replied. "Keep your life, but I am giving the Narnian's back their freedom." And the triumphant roar of the Narnians resounded.

"Peter," said Edmund. Peter looked up at him, and the brothers clasped arms in greeting. They exchanged grins, relief in both of their expressions.

"Good to see you in one piece."

"Feels good to be in one piece," Peter returned. Edmund had to grin as his brother pat him on the shoulder, but when he noticed a dark head of curls from behind Peter, he took a step back, gesturing for Peter to look behind him. Upon doing so, Peter's grin softened into a smile at seeing the Courageous Queen. She returned it as she approached him, but she paused once they were less than a foot apart. Eventually, however, Peter sighed and pulled his small wife into a warm embrace. He felt Alexa's arms curl around his back, and her hands that clenched the scarlet fabric of his tunic, which rested against his chainmail armor.

Alexa rested against him in relief, but ignored the tears that threatened to fall as she remembered her guilt, and how close she could have been to losing him.

'_If Edmund hadn't warned him..._'

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." she said quietly. Peter pressed a kiss at her hairline before bowing his head close to her ear.

"Why is that?" he asked. Alexa shook her head.

"I said such...terrible things to you...I was angry, Peter."

"...I know you were...I'm sorry too."

"I'm so deeply sorry...I was unfair to you..." Peter pulled away a bit to meet her downcast gaze.

"Stop, Alexa...I haven't been the best to you either." He paused, and for a moment, he listened to the cheers of the Narnians. Their joy. It was enough to make him truly smile. "...I know I've been cold and selfish, but I swear I'll make it up to you...to Lucy, to Edmund, Susan...Caspian...everyone I've let down."

Alexa met his gaze, and seeing his sincerity, allowed herself a slow smile.

"_Peter!_" His head swiveled in the direction of Edmund's voice, and he slowly pulled away from Alexa. His eyes widened in shock as he saw King Miraz lying lifeless, unseeing, on the ground.

"TREACHERY!" Sopespian shouted. "They shot him! They murdered our king!" He ran along with General Glozelle toward their waiting troops.

'_Oh, bloody perfect,_' Peter thought grimly.

"BE READY!" he shouted as he unsheathed Rhindon. Perhaps this wasn't quite over yet.

"Go!" he commanded Caspian. The prince obliged, and rode down to the underground portion of the Howe where the rest of the army was waiting. All they could do now was turn and wait.


	9. Into the Fray Part II

…**Reviewers…I love you all. You guys have been really supportive and encouraging to me. I'm a happy person. :D **

**Lines borrowed from the book will be in italics.**

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><p><em>~Returning Home~<em>

Chapter Nine – Into the Fray Part II

Susan brought the tired horse to a stop. They were in a small clearing, under a canopy of trees that just broke enough to let some sunlight filter through the thick branches.

"Let's rest for a minute. Would you like to get down?" Susan asked her sister.

"Yes, to stretch our legs. But only for a moment. We _must_ find Him." Lucy looked around the underbrush, stepping over large twigs and the gnarled roots of the trees.

"Susan…" Lucy called.

"Yes?"

"Let's walk through here."

"But the horse cannot get through there, the forest is too dense."

"It's fine. We will come back for him." Susan frowned in her disagreement. This seemed like wasting time, but…

"Let us make it quick then, shall we?" They walked together through the foliage, dodging winding vines and wooden limbs and thistles. But somehow the trek was worth it. Lucy felt a prickling sensation, anticipation with every step she took forward. A thrilling chill ran up Susan's spine, and her arms and legs spread gooseflesh. Eyes wide and alert, their pace quickened—faster and faster until they were at dead sprinting without abandon.

They would later swear they heard a deep rumble of the forest through the pounding of their hearts in their ears, and just above the wind whistling in their ears, a steady purr.

Their feet stopped abruptly. All noise ceased. Susan and Lucy could only hear each other's heavy panting as they regarded their surroundings. And then, the leaves rustled.

"Hello, Young Ones. We are here together at last."

* * *

><p>The two armies collided, erupting in pandemonium. The lines of warriors blurred on each side, swords clanging, spears thrown, arrows drawn and fired. The Narnian army, now reinforced by their group that had risen from the underground of the Howe (led by Caspian), fought off the larger Telmarine army vigorously, holding their own. Until, that is, Telmarine catapults began firing at the ready—large stones imbedding themselves in the structure of the Howe, and the battle ground before them.<p>

Peter, noticing their army lapsing in the face of the new threat, ordered a retreat to the great rocks that lay in front of the Howe, protecting its entrance. He led a portion of their forces toward it, Edmund, Caspian (who had rejoined them shortly after laying siege from the below ground forces), and Alexa behind him. However, the boulders fired from the catapults, well aimed, blocked their escape.

"_Look out!_" Edmund suddenly screamed.

They were forced to stop short as a boulder landed a few yards in front of them, almost crushing them. Peter pulled back the reins of his horse. He clenched his teeth and held on tightly as the animal reared in response to his hasty actions.

"We'll have to face them head on," Alexa said. She joined Edmund in turning her own horse around, and met the oncoming Telmarines. Peter pursed his lips, and nodded.

"Get ready!" he commanded the Narnians. "_Where the bloody hell are Susan and Lucy?" _thought Peter.

* * *

><p>"Oh, Aslan, we've missed you so much!" Lucy exclaimed. Soon, she was enveloped in a furry embrace, and warmth spread through her from the tips of her fingers to her toes. Nevertheless, Susan, ecstatic though she was, was more hesitant in greeting her King. Every muscle in her body pulled with her instincts to follow Lucy's same actions, but instead she bowed her head. She looked to her feet, trying to bury the feeling of her rolling stomach.<p>

"And I you, my daughter," He replied with a tender smile. Then, amber eyes turned to His second daughter.

"Susan." She looked up slowly, tears beginning to form in eyes that had turned glassy.

"_You have listened to fears, child_." Susan nodded in response, not being able to manage much more.

"Come." She stepped closer to the Lion, and He breathed deeply, gently, over her face. Her bangs were blown back, her tears dried. She smiled.

"_Are you brave again, child_?" He asked simply, another affectionate smile spread upon His face. Susan nodded.

"_A little, Aslan_."

"Good, for there is much to be done," He said. And with His mighty roar, the trees once again began to rumble and sway. They had been awoken from their sleep.

"Arise, sons and daughters. You have been dormant for far too long."

Dryads stretched and yawned as they took form, shaking dead leaves from their hair and clothing. Birch-girls came to stand before Aslan, curtsying and greeting along with beeches and hollies, their oak-men, and Bacchus, their leader. The animals of the forest came as well, heeding the Great Lion's call.

"Now come, children, ride on my back as you did once," Aslan said to the two sisters. They climbed on, and the wild party ran through the woodland, stopping along the way to collect Susan and Lucy's nearly forgotten horse. Finally, the Bridge of Beruna was a long stretch in front of them.

"Now we're on the other side of the Ford," Susan said to Lucy. Just as the words were out of her mouth, a great, watery, bearded head emerged from the river, crowned with reeds.

"_Hail, my Lord. Please loose my chains_," it said with a base, grounding voice.

"Who in the world is _that_?" Susan whispered with wide eyes.

"I think it's the river-god," Lucy replied quietly.

"Bacchus, deliver him from his chains," Aslan commanded.

* * *

><p>They were being driven back, enclosed in a corner. Peter knew they would be overcome soon, but he refused to give up without dragging as many Telmarines down with him. Further into the battle he had lost sight of Edmund and Alexa, but now fought against adversaries with Caspian, side-by-side.<p>

"On your left!" Peter heard the prince yell.

He ducked a swipe at his head, and thrust forward, impaling the soldier. Quickly he withdrew his sword and stabbed another, who had been poised behind Caspian.

"Two for two?" Peter offered wryly. Caspian smirked, and lunged forward towards the High King. Peter's eyes widened as he heard a shout of pain. He turned and saw a Telmarine fall before his feet.

...

"This is beginning to get monotonous," Edmund remarked, going through the motions of dodging, blocking, and attacking.

"Are you saying you're bored?" Alexa quipped, blocking a particularly forceful hit. She let the sword slide off of her own, using the other to slash the enemy's throat. He was about to confirm her assumptions when a rather large Telmarine bulldozed practically through him, knocking him to the floor. He landed near the edge of a trench that had been made when the underground forces stormed through the Howe's cave walls, making the above ground crumble into a deep hole.

"Not—_umph_—particularly," he retracted. Edmund knocked the soldier's sword away with his own and swept the soldier's feet from under him. Edmund rose from the ground and ran the Telmarine through.

"Are you all right?" Alexa asked from a couple yards away.

"Fine," Edmund replied, parrying another attack. The fight pushed Alexa closer to him, until they were only feet from the cliff.

Then, the hairs rose up on the back of his neck, and he looked up. His eyes grew wide.

"Alexa, behind you!" She heard him a fraction too late, but he was already moving towards the attacker that tried to deliver a blow over both their heads. The force pushed the two backwards—over the cliff.

He heard Alexa shriek, felt his sword slip from his hand.

He landed on his back painfully, the air forced out of his lungs. Edmund gasped for breath as he turned on his side, coughing into the dirt.

"_Shit_," he thought after a couple minutes, bracing himself onto his elbow. He coughed some more, but was finally able to get some air into his stinging lungs. His chest was tight, but steadily loosening.

"_Thank Aslan it wasn't too far of a drop_." He rubbed his eyes and rose to a sitting position.

"Alexa," he called through his coughing. Edmund scanned the ground, now littered with dead bodies. It lucky to have landed on dirt, now that he thought of it.

"_There she is_." He spotted her several feet away, lying on the ground.

"Alexa!" he called again. She stirred a bit and raised her head slightly as he made his way over.

"I'm fine, I think, just resting for a moment. Are you all right?" she asked, blinking slowly. He smiled.

"Well, I appreciate my quick reflexes, else we'd be dead by now. I'm fine as well. Can you get up?" He offered her a hand. She gave a small grin, and took it.

Edmund helped Alexa to her feet, and they both found their missing weapons. Just as Edmund had sheathed his sword, Alexa called out behind him. He pivoted, but before he could block the soldier's attack, a long, wild root wrapped itself around the soldier. The man screamed as he was tossed high into the air, and fell to his death. The king and queen gaped as the root retreated to the earth.

"The trees!" Alexa exclaimed joyfully. They climbed out of the trench and marveled at the many dryads that had come to their rescue—ripping apart the catapults, protecting the weary Narnians, and finally, helping them drive the Telmarines to the Ford of Beruna. Edmund and Alexa regrouped with Peter in his assault on the Telmarine army, and they chased them into the water.

"Retreat!" Sopespian yelled to his troops. He rode his horse ahead of them, being the first to try crossing the bridge to safety.

"Follow them, keep on them!" Peter commanded. He ran with Caspian to the edge of the river. But from the water emerged a being, the river-god, awoken from his slumber. As leafy vines ensnarled the wooden planks of the bridge, he tore it from the ground and broke it apart to splinters.

Sopespian, being the first to ride onto the man-made safety bridge, was the first to die.

* * *

><p>And so, the remaining Telmarines surrendered their weapons to the Narnians, but were spared for their utter submission.<p>

"Look, it's Susan and Lucy." Peter pointed to the other side of the river.

"And Aslan!" Alexa added elatedly. So they, as well as Edmund and Caspian, waded through the river to meet them.

They greeted Him warmly, save for Caspian, who hung back hesitantly. He felt out of place among the Kings and Queens of Old.

Susan and Lucy joined their friend and siblings, and the six of them bowed before their King.

"Rise, Kings and Queens of Narnia." Caspian, however, remained kneeling.

"All of you," Aslan commanded.

"I do not think I am ready," Caspian protested.

"It's for that very reason I know you are," the Lion replied. Then, the prince uncertainly stood.

The quiet moment was broken with the sound of small bag pipes and flutes being played. And five mice came through between the Lion and the Kings and Queens, carrying Reepicheep on a stretcher made from grass and leaves. Lucy ran forward, unscrewing the cap to her cordial and let a drop fall into the mouse's mouth. After a long few seconds, he revived.

"Oh! Thank you your Majesty. Thank you," he said in gratitude.

"Oh! Hail Aslan! It is a great honor to be—oh!" Reepicheep stumbled and turned to see that his tail had been severed. "_By a rotten Telmarine, no doubt,"_ he thought angrily.

"I am completely out of countenance! I must crave your indulgence for appearing in this unseemly fashion!" He then turned to Lucy, eyes imploring at the red bottle in her hand.

"Perhaps a drop more?" he asked pleadingly.

"I don't think it does that," Lucy said sadly.

"We could have a go," the mouse pressed.

"It becomes you well, Small One," Aslan said, chuckling a bit. "_Is he laughing at me?_" Reepicheep thought dejectedly.

"All the same, Great King, I regret that I must withdraw, for the tail is the honor and glory of a mouse," Reepicheep said as he held out his sword to the Great Lion.

"Perhaps you think too much of your honor, friend," Aslan replied, making no move to take the sword from him.

"Well it's not just the honor. It's also great for balance, and climbing, a-and grabbing things…" The mouse was stopped mid-rant by his companions, who had all unsheathed their small rapiers.

"May it please your High Majesty, we will not bear the shame having an honor denied to our chief." The three women gasped quietly as the mice all held their swords to their tails, ready to sever them.

"Not for the sake of your dignity, but for the love of your people," Aslan simply said.

All looked at Reepicheep to see that his tail had miraculously grown back and had been restored. The six smothered their chuckles and giggles as he gasped, and held his new found tail for all to see.

"Ho-ho, look! Thank you my Liege! I will treasure it always, and it will serve as a reminder of my huge humility!" Aslan laughed and turned to the Kings and Queens once again.

"Now, where is this Dear Little Friend I've heard so much about?" He asked.

They found Trumpkin sorting out piles of wood from the river. Aslan approached the dwarf, and as soon as Trumpkin saw Him, he kneeled before the Lion. Aslan gave a cat's smile before letting out a mighty roar, startling Trumpkin out of his wits.

"Do you see Him _now_?" Lucy asked knowingly. Trumpkin did not even attempt to make a reply.


	10. Someday

**Final chapter, WOOT! Thanks reviewers for your awesomeness, and thank you readers for sticking with me!**

**And of course I couldn't have done it without my trusty beta, Witchy Pixie. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>~Returning Home~<em>

Chapter Ten – Someday

Tension was still apparent between the Telmarines and the Narnians, even as Caspian's coronation took place a few days after the battle. Telmarines whispered to one another behind closed doors, saying the Narnians were wild and untamed, the dryads were simply ghosts—an uncanny phenomenon, and even Aslan wouldn't sheathe His claws for long with them. Caspian, now King of Narnia under the Kings and Queens of Old and Aslan, was trying his very hardest to accommodate both peoples. But eventually he requested the help of the Great Lion, who gave it willingly.

"_We will have a gathering in the courtyard, tomorrow. And we will speak of what must be done_," Aslan had said. He had talked to Caspian privately, mentoring him on what would be his duties for the future, and for the meeting that would take place the next day. And then, He summoned the three eldest of the Kings and Queens of Old.

...

"Aslan, how will be able to leave again if we barely managed it the first time?" asked Alexa. The King and Queens walked with the Lion through the corridors, each with a handful of His golden mane for support.

"I have told you before that I am with you wherever you go. This is true even in your world. There, I am known by another name, but those who seek Me shall find Me."

"You speak as if…" Peter trailed. He was not sure if he should finish the thought.

"Through your many years and trials here, you have learned all you can from the land of Narnia. Now, only life in your world can teach you the rest," said Aslan.

"So…we will not be able to come back," Alexa finished, a few tears sliding down her face.

"No, you will not. Each of you has grown as you could in this world."

"But Edmund and Lucy…" Susan started. Tears were left unshed, but raw emotion was shown through her eyes, not unlike Peter.

"They may learn something still," replied Aslan.

"Sir…I…I don't believe I am strong enough to leave a second time," said Peter tentatively. Amber eyes gazed at him tenderly.

"Not alone. But with the help of those around you, you may find peace, my son." Peter looked up sadly, and the Lion breathed upon him. Despite the lingering, dull ache of melancholy, Peter gave a small smile as the warmth of relief spread through him.

Aslan then looked to His daughters.

"Keep faith in Me, and you shall find Me."

* * *

><p>"Narnia belongs to the Narnians just as it belongs to man. Any Telmarine who would like to stay and live in peace are welcome to, but to any of you who wish, Aslan will return you to the land of our forefathers," King Caspian addressed all the people formally of Telmar on a platform, who whispered amongst themselves at his proposition.<p>

"It's been ages since we left Telmar," stated one from the crowd.

"We are not referring to Telmar. Your ancestors were seafaring brigands—pirates who were living underground on an island. There they found a cave, a rare chasm that brought them here from their world, the same world as our Kings and Queens," Aslan replied.

"It is to that island I can return you," He went on. "It would be a good place for those who wish to make a fresh start." There was a long pause, in which all was silent and none moved an inch. Eventually, however, Caspian's aunt stepped forward with her child in her arms, and her father beside her.

"I will go," she declared. Aslan nodded.

"Because you have spoken first, your future there shall be good." She and the older man stepped onto the slightly higher platform where Aslan, Caspian, and the Kings and Queens stood. Aslan breathed gently on the woman, her child, and the man.

Then, to the shock of all, a gnarled tree beside those on the platform unfurled into two connected trees. There was a gap between the two large enough for a grown man to walk through.

Shouts and cries of could be heard from the Telmarines who watched, some with astonishment, some with fear, and some with pure awe. The pair looked at Aslan nervously. But they hesitantly stepped through the gap, not coming out the other side, but vanishing through the portal into thin air. The Telmarine crowd dissolved into an uproar.

"How do we know that He is not leading us to our death?" one Telmarine shouted.

"Sire," began Reepicheep, who climbed onto the platform with his crew of mice. "If my example can be of any service, I will take eleven mice through with no delay."

"Knight of Narnia," Aslan addressed the mouse. But He did not answer Reepicheep's request. He simply looked to the Kings and Queens with a gentle smile. Peter took this as a cue.

"_It's time_," he thought. Peter looked to his wife and siblings, and then back to Aslan.

"We will go," Peter said.

"We will?" Edmund asked, sharing a confused look with Lucy.

"Come on, time is up," Peter answered. He took Rhindon from its sheath. "After all, we're not really needed anymore are we?" He handed the sword to Caspian, who took it hesitantly.

"I will look after it until you return," Caspian said as he admired the sword.

"I'm afraid that's just it. We're not coming back," said Susan.

"We're not?" Lucy asked worriedly.

"Well, you two will be, eventually," Peter said quickly to both Lucy and Edmund.

"But why? Have they done something wrong?" Lucy asked persistently.

"Quite the opposite, Dear One. But all things have their time. Your brother and sisters have already learned all they can from this world. Now they must learn to live in their own," said Aslan. Lucy looked down, crestfallen.

"It's alright, Lu. It's not how I thought it would be, but it's all right. One day you will see too," Peter comforted, and held his sister's hand. She smiled, and he returned it giving a reassuring smile to all his siblings and his wife.

"Come on," he urged, and led them to their waiting friends: Trumpkin, Glenstorm, Trufflehunter, and Caspian. After saying their heartfelt goodbyes, they took one last look at all they had come to know in this very different Narnia. They remembered the old Narnia still, the Narnia of their Golden Age that had become their home. Yet they had come to love this one as well, more wild and untamed, but even so was the same land.

"I…I don't know if I can let go…" Alexa nearly whispered.

"Of what?" Peter asked.

"It's our last connection to him…his memory…" she trailed.

"Garett's memory will always be with us…but we cannot hold onto him here," he said quietly. He grasped her hand, offering her comfort. She nodded and wiped her eyes of any more tears.

They stepped through the portal, and were once again in the subway station. They wore their uniforms and held the bags they had been carrying. The subway train was coming on their left.

The five walked to almost a foot away from the edge and waited for it to stop. Once they were on board, Peter and Edmund slid their things into the top drawer above their seats.

"Do you think we could go back?" Edmund asked as he rummaged through his bag. The rest all looked at him incredulously.

"_How could he be so insensitive?_" thought Alexa.Even Peter was about to say edgewise, when Edmund cut him off.

"I left my new torch in Narnia," he finished with a smile. The other four relaxed and smiled. Peter mussed his brother's hair teasingly, to the other's annoyance.

"Hey! Get your hands off me!"

"I do say, you look better that way, Ed."

"I don't believe I asked for your opinion, Alexa."

"I do agree with her, except it needs to be more like this."

"_Arrg!_ Get off, Lu! And Susan, your girlish giggling is making my ears bleed!"

The subway began its course down the railway—to St. Finbar Academy and Hendin House Preparatory.

**AAAAAAH, it is finished! Finally. That took a long time. **

**Now, the question I ask of you all is should I begin my final sequel…I haven't gotten much feedback lately beside a small few (who I appreciate :D), and I honestly would like to know what you readers think. **

**Thank you, people who have added me to your favourites and alerts, but I "feed" off of your feedback. Meaning that if you have certain things you think could have been better, or particularly liked about something within the chapter, or would like to see something done in the future, I will look over it and consider what you have to say. I will also try my best to fix (or incorporate) what you have suggested. This ends my extremely long, impromptu, request. Thank you for reading, if you've made it this far. ^_^ **

**I love you all!**

—**Evanescence2189 **


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